Weird or not weird?

I am writing this blog today to pose an a question to the blog world that has been on my mind for the last couple of days.  I recently have been forced to ask myself if it is weird that the Tortoise and I do not do EVERYTHING together.  Now, to me this seems like a no-brainer.  Of course it's not weird.  We each have friends that we like to hang out with (girls/boys nights) like a lot of couples do.  But is it weird that sometimes I go home to visit family for the weekend while he stays in Chicago?  Is it weird that we don't always stay at the same house when we are home at the same time because sometimes it just makes more sense to stay where we were hanging out with friends?

I feel like this is has been a question/comment that has come up a lot since we have been married.  Before we were married, this was never an issue.  People expected us to spend time with our friends.  People expected us to stay different places when we were both visiting our home town.  The Tortoise and I have always enjoyed the fact that we can be independent while also still doing really fun things together. 

I guess I just wonder why it seems like once you are married everyone expects you to be attached at the hip at all times.  If I want to go home to visit friends or family and the Tortoise has something he wants to do in Chicago, doesn't it only make sense that we do the things we want to do?  We don't have kids, we spend everyday together normally, and we have tons of activities that we do together as a couple.

Still, is it weird to have seperate interests and do seperate things?  Comments I have been receiving from people lately make me think that maybe it is...

I don't know.  Even if people do think it's weird, I feel like it is up to the Tortoise and I to decide what's right for our relationship.  One of the things I have always valued is that the Tortoise appreciates who I am as a person and respects my interests, even if they don't match his own.  As the blog name suggests, we have a lot of seperate interests.  I don't see a problem with pursuing those interests as long as we are spending quality time together as a couple along with it. 

Let me know your thoughts.

-The Hare