Bill Bradford wrote:
> How does your significant other/spouse deal with your hobby, if
> you have one (a SO, not a hobby), and what "concessions" do you
> make to stay in their good graces?
Jen is of the opinion that, considering the universe of other possible
vices and weaknesses that I could have selected from, this one,
while perhaps a bit peculiar, is better than most. She's also
suffered through my other hobbies -- cars, aviation, brewing and
glass audio -- so she's already had a chance to perfect setting
limits. I also don't fence her off from these activities but
rather allow her to get involved to whatever level she chooses.
Consequently she's become a pilot in her own right, is always
there on brew day and while she's not going to be wiring up
211s anytime soon she enjoys the sound of glass and is always
there to tell me how much she likes -- or dislikes -- my latest
dabblings in analog.
Her rules are few but hard:
- This stuff has to remain confined to designated areas, which
translates as rented storage, the garage and my office. Nothing
can be stacked outside and the garage has to, in general, remain
functional for at least one car. It is, however, possible to
get a day pass to use the kitchen or the wash rack area in back
in order to clean stuff.
- It's a hobby, which means that it generally has to live somewhere
below home and yard maintenance tasks in the priority scheme.
- I'm allowed to spend significant sums in support of this (and
other) hobbies, but it's factored into the overall scheme of
things. If I get a new machine, she gets a new dress for her
collection of Victorian clothing. If I get a new piece of
test equipment she gets something for *her* lab (yesterday
it was a power tree limber for her silvaculture lab). And
before I buy that 5000 sq ft shop building down the road we
have to tack on the new addition and buy an airplane.
- I have to stay focused, especially since the trip she took
with me to Marvin's place (Marvin has a collection to die
for, but Jen made it clear that if mine ever became that
large that she'd have me committed).
All in all she's incredibly supportive of all the weird
things that I do. I think part of her would prefer it
if I hadn't selected *another* hobby which involves
big, heavy, hard-to-move things, but it gives her fodder
for when she wants to give me a good natured hard time ;-)
--
Chris Kennedy
chris_at_mainecoon.com
http://www.mainecoon.com
PGP fingerprint: 4E99 10B6 7253 B048 6685 6CBC 55E1 20A3 108D AB97
Received on Thu Jun 29 2000 - 08:49:29 BST