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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Sancho" data-source="post: 1375719" data-attributes="member: 27039"><p>Great thread, Veagle, and congratulations on a long and healthy marriage. Mrs. S. married me during my 15-year lapse from birding, and was rather surprised when I had an epiphany in my early thirties, bought some bins and one afternoon while on hols in the west of ireland, spent three hours sitting on a clifftop watching nesting Peregrines. She thought I was nuts, but is very tolerant (have to watch the expenditure on expensive optics, though, but my own guilt-trips suffice for that). Over the years I´ve become more "into" birding, and Mrs. S. has become a casual back-yard birder, but she´d never accompany me on a bird-dedicated outing. I don´t think I´d want her to. It´s "down-time" for me too. Add to the mix three kids now under age 10, and I have to seriously compromise. Family comes first. But my time away is important too, either alone or with friends, in order to keep refreshed and able to attend to my familial responsibilities. I also cycle a lot, so my birding time is seriously limited. If it began to interfere with family harmony, I´d drop it. As it stands, I don´t get out as much as I´d like, but I expect I will in the future. Mrs. S. has no problem with us arranging family holidays to coincide, for example, with autumn seawatching in the West. But I don´t spend all my holidays on a clifftop, so I´ve missed a lot of birds. On the other hand, I´ve gotten to see a lot of birds too. And I have a top-class family to go home to after a "hard day in the field". Lifelong partnership, I guess, involves compromise and accepting that you can´t always do exactly what you want without considering those close to you. In my case, I need my time for birding, cycling, etc., but I´d sure hate to be alone and have all the time in the world for these activities. I stress, in my case only....each to one´s own. Best wishes and thanks for the opportunity to pause and think about these things. You´ll see the Sandhill Cranes another time. (And I´ll see my Fea´s Petrel another time too....I´ve missed it five times on family hols.....<img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" />)</p></blockquote><p></p>

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