OK, so my husband and I have been separated for a year or so. We actually get along great, but for lots of reasons, decided not to stay together. We have two children together. I also brought a daughter into the relationship, and he has been her "father" for the eight years that we have been together. He is very close to her. After the separation we both continued to live in the same house and date others. We have come to a point where we have decided that we have met others that we would like to pursue a "real" relationship with, and have decided that it is finally time to actually get divorced. However, he is extremely reluctant to move out, due to the children. We have discussed the idea of a communal family at length with each other, our partners, and our oldest child (she is 9). We four adults get along excellently and have an amazing synergy when spending time together. This is not going to be a polyarmorous situation, we are all adults who are faithful to our current partners. So far, members of the immediate family and those that it affects, are all for the situation. Neither of the other partners are bringing children into the relationship, although my ex's girlfriend may want children in the future. We have discussed this with several friends. Some of them say that we are insane, others congratulate us on our willingness to be there for the children. We have not talked to either of our families yet, and I'm not sure how to go about doing so. I have looked for resources on the internet regarding communal families, and the information and support network is pretty much non-existent. I was wondering if anyone here had any information on such a living arrangement, if it had ever been tried, if there are resources out there, and finally, how do we approach our families with this information?
why is it easier for you to tell all this to complete strangers than to your family? And if it's so difficult to talk to them about a simple living arrangement, why do you care what they think?
I think what you are doing is great.!! You cannot control what your family is going to do or say. The only thing you can do is be positive and hope that they are positive as well. Congrats to what you are doing. I know of a family who has done it in my small town (except 3 women and 1 man- lesbian partners and then straight patners)and it seemed to work out fine because they were so open and honest with their children. I had parents that got divorced a while back and I only wish they could find common ground. peace.love Dancing Sun
Hey, if you are all upfront about your situation with each other and agreeable, why worry about what anyone else thinks? I would say for sure to get your divorce done though.. you don't want that to cause any future problems, you know? Good luck.
