Dear Carolyn: I love my significant other, but I also love my family, both nuclear and extended. We are a tightknit group in which everyone shares a similar quirky sense of humor, and as immigrants (and children of immigrants) we have supported each other through many hardships. They are my village.
My significant other does not understand this, as she comes from a more traditional American family in which young adults are encouraged to launch and distance themselves from the family unit. I am worried about how this will play out over the years.
We are not going to have children — and by the way, we’re both women — but I can see it’s going to cause conflict. Do you have any suggestions for preempting those conflicts? Is it possible for one half of a couple to remain part of another family unit without sacrificing the primacy of the relationship? — Family vs. SO
