Family and Relationship Life - Essay Example

The interview involved a couple that had been together for 12 years. The couple lives in Ohio and has been living at the place since the start of the fifth year after their marriage. Following the analysis of their responses to the interview questions, their family was a success to both of them. However, they did not show complete contention regarding their family's status by the day of the interview. They showed that issues came along following an increase in the age of their relationship. These challenges were very hidden when their love relationship was young. They claimed that the environment surrounding the start of their journey in love did not allow them enough space to think about the possibilities of challenges. Following their words, the couple met during a vacation trip organized by their respective families. The vacation came to a start of a journey that would last for more than 12 years later. This paper discusses the family and relationship life undergone by the couple for the last 12 years.

Love

I interrogated the family about the primary forces used to drive their relationship for the 12 years. The responses that I got regarding this question were different from each other. The wife gave answers that differed from the nature of responses that I obtained from her husband. A few factors resembled regarding this question. For instance, both of them show a significant interest in achieving a better status in their relationship by using a shared source of happiness.

The two of them showed that the maintenance of their love relationship was significantly dependent on the respect they give to each other. They accepted that their family could grow more effectively following joint efforts from both of them. As a consequence, the sense of responsibility catalyzed the growth of love. According to the words that the wife gave regarding her family and love with her husband, it was clear that financial stability determined the extent of love relationships.

The husband showed that the love between him and his spouse was kept high following the vacations' practice. He stated that "She gets mad over our family issues in often times. When I want to drive her out of the madness and reaffirm the love for her. These practices cool her down." This statement also reaffirmed that the financial trends of the family affected their financial status. Thus, some of the factors that affected the love relationship of this family were inclusive of respect, finances, parties or occasions, and interest.

Communication

I enquired about the communication pattern of the couple. The most dominant means of communication between the two partners was verbal and physical communication. They preferred to use this communication because they spent most of their time together. For instance, they spent all the evenings together in their house. They also stayed together during weekends and at other times when they were not in their workplaces. They went for vacations together with their families, and thus their physical contact was kept at a maximum.

The couple also used their mobile phones for verbal and written communications. The two communication methods were used more often when the couple was not together. For instance, during weekdays, the couple spends the day time away from each other. During such times, they preferred to use mobile phones to facilitate their communication because it is the fastest and most reliable means of communication. The family showed that they gave avoided using such official communication platforms as emails as a way of growing their relationship more affectionately. They thought that the use of emails would do away with the room of making fun of their communication.

Marriage

The couple stated that their marriage had lasted for 12 years and four months. They had been many issues during this period. As mentioned above, the couple had not been living in Ohio from the first day of their marriage. They explained that they started their family in the coastal region of Los Angeles. However, following a disagreement between the two, they parted ways, and the wife went to live with her parents in New York City. The husband went to Ohio and settled in the same place that they live in today. The communication between them, however, was not cut.

The couple said that the cause of their separation before moving to Ohio was a common family crisis. They stated that the disagreement came out of the ways they shall follow to spend the income they had made from their new business. The wife was the most often servant at the business, and hence, she felt that she was the right person to make judgments regarding the use of the income. On the other side, the husband felt he was the head of the family. As a result, he was the person that was to decide on the fate of the income as it had been achieved out of a family business. Following this disagreement, the two partners quarreled and ended up parting.

Parenthood

The couple lives with three children. Two of the children share the same biological father and mother. The other child does not belong to the same father with the others, but mother. The firstborn of this couple was sired when the couple was living in Los Angeles, before the separation. The separation came when the son was aged three years. As a consequence, he could hardly be left at the hands of his father. Therefore, he moved to his marital grandparents to stay with his mother. He is known as Ken.

The second-born child for this couple is known as Lillian. The second child was sired when the wife was staying with her parents. She had started another relationship with a different man during the separation. However, the relationship did not last long before she heeded the decision of getting back to a wedded man. While most men in modern society do not accept children sired through different men, the husband stated he did not have issues accepting his wife back. He did not have mental or emotional challenges accepting Lillian and treating her as one of his children. The third child was sired after the end of the separation. He is known, Johnny. He is the youngest. Both of the partners stated that they love each of their children equally. They do not show variations or discriminate against the children on the basis of their gender, age, or biological parenthood.

Work and family

The two partners work to earn the living of their family. The husband is a lecturer at one of the private colleges in Ohio. He uses the earnings he gets from his workplace to pay for family needs. His wife runs a chemist. The emergency issues that face the wife’s chemist are also sorted using the salary of the husband. Since the last separation, the family strategized on the approaches that shall guide them out of similar occurrences.

They stated that the first disagreement came out of the ways they shall follow to spend the income they had made from their new business. The wife was the most often servant at the business, and hence, she felt that she was the right person to make judgments regarding the use of the income. On the other side, the husband felt he was the head of the family. Therefore, they agreed their income shall be used to fill out gaps revealed in the family. The income received from the wife's earnings is mainly used to get food and clothing for the family. The salary of the husband is used to pay fees for the children.

Family stress

The primary cause of stress for this family is associated with the children. During the school term, the last born child does not get someone to keep him at home. His mother has always been assuming the idea of taking him to daycare because she thinks that it deprives her of the affection of her son. Secondly, the two sons discriminate Lillian because she does share with them the same father. At times, also, they do not keep her company because she is a girl. The second child was sired when the wife was staying with her parents. The parents face stressing moments in heed to contain this situation.