Why His Xbox isn't the Enemy

This girlfriend does not resent her boyfriend's Xbox Halo love affair. I celebrate it. I revel in it. Why?

Because Halo time is Me time.

When my boyfriend, Alex, puts on his little headset and chats happily away with his friends as they kill aliens or whatever, I smile to myself, gather up my laptop, a book, and a glass of water, and quietly disappear into the softness of my bed. Here I enjoy two or three hours of time to myself.

Not that I don't enjoy time with him-of course I do!-but every now and then it's healthy for him to do just as he pleases and for me to do just as I please. I am a firm believer in the importance of maintaining separate interests-however simple those interests may be.

And so Halo and I are secretly on the same side. Sometimes, I want to read or watch Bones for a couple of hours before bed. If you think Alex would ever condescend to watch an episode of Bones, you are mistaken. So I set that aside for Xbox time, just as he sets aside Xbox time for Bones time. Circular sort of logic there, but it works out.

Now, I know that I'm lucky enough to be with someone who would never choose Xbox over me. That just wouldn't happen-I've heard stories of boyfriends neglecting girlfriends, husbands forsaking wives for the call of the console, but that doesn't happen with us. We have a symbiotic relationship going on with that Xbox, and I love it.

Has Xbox ever disrupted one of your relationships or caused a fight? Or do you love your man's Halo mistress as I do?

Emily blogs about life, books, and writing at her blog check, please. She is an ex-teacher, ex-obituary writer, and ex-yuppie. Currently, Emily is the editor for Travelated.com.