"My husband Edwin comes from a big Colombian family, which is very different from the kind of environment I grew up in, and it leads to conflict between us. I had one sibling, a brother, but he passed away in a car accident when I was nine. My mum died a couple years ago. I grew up quite detached from my parents and was never that close to my father. As a result, I'm very independent and I like my own space."
"The other week he got annoyed when I wasn't able to go to his goddaughter's seventh birthday party with him because I'd made plans to attend my best friend's birthday. We were surrounded by his whole family and the kids were screaming. After hours of board games, I had to lie down because I had a headache He said: But what will people think?"
She lost her brother at nine and her mother more recently, and grew up detached from her parents, which made her highly independent and protective of personal space. Her husband Edwin comes from a large Colombian family that values constant togetherness and frequent gatherings. Tensions arise when she declines family events for prior commitments or needs to withdraw during noisy gatherings; Edwin interprets this as thoughtless or rude and worries about appearances. She feels used when expected to attend as a formality and resents being presented to the family solely for optics. The couple wants a family someday but not yet.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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