Life, philosophy
My daughter and I are opposites in many ways. I crave solitude and find being outside in nature restorative to my body and soul. I need quiet evenings and a quiet home.
She needs people. Her preferred state is to be with others all day long. She craves company, touch, and togetherness. This appetite is insatiable.
Where, then, and how, can we live where both of our needs can be met? I posit that is impossible. Or at least, I’ve run out of plausible ideas.
What we have is a compromise. We left our shared community home in the city because I couldn’t stand it, and we left our faraway mountain house because she was too lonely. We live somewhere in between now, both of us never really getting what we need, but making the best of it.
I think our most important relationships can often be defined by compromise.