Housemates: For 2 years I rented a 5 bedroom house with 4 of my closest friends, all of whom were guys. It was challenging at times- guys can be messy- but I had my own half-bath so it was OK. I learned a lot about living communally, without the drama I found when living with just women. We had a lot of fun and I learned to like watching sports on TV!
DD/SIL- Our daughter and son-in-law (and his now 7-yo) moved in with us two years ago. It has been a huge adjustment, but it's also been wonderful having them here. It's nice to have other adults to help with the responsibility of keeping up the house, yard, and that kind of stuff, even though they sometimes take a different approach to things than DH and I would. It's also hard sometimes as we have front-row seats to their lives; there are times when I'd like to know less than I do. HOWEVER... I love having them here, having coffee with them in the mornings, talking in the evening after the 7yo is in bed, doing menu planning, sharing chores, etc. I LOVE having all this extra time with my sweet daughter, who is our only child and the light of my life!
For three summers I was a counselor at a Girl Scout resident camp in NH. Every 2 weeks the session changed and the counselors were assigned to different units, which meant new tent/cabin mates every two weeks. I learned a lot about living with other people, adjusting to their habits, and also adjusting MY expectations and habits. I honestly loved being a camp counselor, a large part due to the staff that I met and shared my summers with, but also for the self-growth that happened along the way.
