Yes, it certainly buys me more time and it is a win-win. Not going to lie. I enjoy my time alone, I enjoy having my own house to retreat to and I enjoy the off week when I don't have my girls. I am actually very spoiled at the moment. I go over about 3 or 4 times a week during my off weeks. She buys me booze, food, we have plenty of adult time and then I get to go home. Such a beautiful thing. I know though that it won't last forever. Getting married is not a priority the Doc did tell me she was not in a rush either. I think she is fine taking it slow though knowing there is a future.
I don't want my daughters dictating the terms to me but I feel that I also have to be considerate of their feelings. It's one thing to ask questions but I can't have them crying on me telling me they wished we spent more time together just the three of us. I can't have them still in the Parent Trap mindset of still thinking their mom and I are getting back together and crying about it. I can't have them start crying when I tell them at some point we might be moving from our home. Every kid is different though and I am very close to my girls. Some kids might not react like mine did and I understand that.
My buddy moved in with his girlfriend after about 1.5 years of dating. He only has his kids every other weekend and his now wife had 2 boys. They continued to date for another 1.5 years and got married after 3. Maybe his daughters didn't react like mine did because they didn't live with him 50% of the time. Maybe her sons didn't react because they are boys. Not sure. It is something my girls are going to have to work through.
They like the Doc, they think she is nice. It's not about her as I think they would feel this way about anyone. They weren't complaining about her, it was all about her son.
My daughters are aware of the Doc and I dating, having a future, etc. They asked me if her son would be their step-brother and I told them "yes". I told them that we wouldn't live in our house forever, etc so they are aware of what the possibilities are.
