Made most of those mistakes and many others...sometimes multiple times! Guess I'm a slow learner...
My wife is the only woman who never gave me grief about my hobbies. Previous girlfriends needed to have a simple truth explained to them: the aquariums, reptiles, motorcycles, guns and other toys were a part of my life before I met any of those women, and would persist long after the women were gone.
I like to paraphrase the old biker's joke: "I spent 90% of my money on aquariums, critters, books, bikes, hunting and fishing. The rest I just wasted!"
My wife is the only woman who never gave me grief about my hobbies. Previous girlfriends needed to have a simple truth explained to them: the aquariums, reptiles, motorcycles, guns and other toys were a part of my life before I met any of those women, and would persist long after the women were gone.
I like to paraphrase the old biker's joke: "I spent 90% of my money on aquariums, critters, books, bikes, hunting and fishing. The rest I just wasted!"