Pursuing Love

My boyfriend of about a year just asked me to move in with him. I felt, well, thrilled that we are moving in that direction (we already spend every night together at each others apartments). We would be moving into mine if it had the view of the skyline, a BBQ and pool. Anyway, in the past, I have been very reluctant to live with a boyfriend. Call me old-fashioned but I just didn't feel comfortable doing it unless I was engaged/ married. This has mostly to do with personal space issues of which I have my share.

I grew up in a house with a brother and sister and all of us had our own rooms which my dad and mom and their frugal habits deserve all the credit for. As a result, I need my alone time and plenty of design authority over my environment. Now, I certainly can't predict how this will go but my boyfriend's apartment is small and though I don't have too much stuff, it will be enough to really make the place COZY. Perhaps, too cozy. If I move in with him, will I get my space, my alone time, my choice of sheets and wall hangings, etc.?

We'll have to see. I decided right then when he asked that, yes, I would move in with him and am eager to merge our spaces.

My sister asks me, "Do you really want to give up your own space?" She says my apartment has better feng shui. I do prefer the design of my apartment, it's bigger, more spacious. However, it's also a bigger and more spacious pain in the ass. I've done this pros and cons thing before (better shower pressure, larger TV, digital satellite service) and, in the end, I have to go with my gut.

We'll have to set down some rules like you have to rinse your dirty dishes, always! We have to clean equally and maintain a level of cleanliness his bachelor ways are not accustomed to. We will have to take down a bunch of things in the apartment and redesign it.

Try, try, try.