When the decision was made that I would leave my full-time outside the home job in order to work from home, the husband shared some of his requests with me:

1. Legs and armpits should be shaved at all times. – I think the idea behind this is that I’ll have more time alone to be able to do so instead of letting it go some days due to the rush.
2. Since I’ll be pursuing blogging and social media consulting full-time, I need to carve out time for our family. – Fair enough.
3. I need to bring in some money. – That’s the idea.

They are simple requests; some more serious than others, but all important to him. And, he might have more that he just did not express to me. You never know.

On the other hand, my initial expectations for myself looked like this:

1. My house should be cleaner now.
2. I should be able to cook every day.
3. Laundry will not pile up on the couch for days waiting to be folded.

That’s not to say I don’t have goals of making money and spending time with my family. Of course I do. They are just the obvious goals that didn’t need to be said. I knew about those, but somehow my brain felt it necessary to remind itself about those related to the house. They were the ones that would constantly cross my mind.

It’s interesting really. Perhaps it’s because I have a physical reminder as I walk across the house and it then becomes a tangible task.

Do you find your expectations differ from those of your spouse/partner? If you’ve made such a transition in your life, how did you adjust?