This post is primarily aimed at those of you who are adults, living with a significant other, tho certainly anyone can chime in.
Assume you are going out on your own, and your partner is either staying home or going somewhere else.
-Does your partner ask you for a specific time by which you will be home?
-If the roles are reversed and you are the one staying home, do you expect a specific return time from your partner?
-Do you offer one without being asked?
-And, if you identify a time and are not going to make it home by then, do you call?
-How late will you be before you call?
Starting the discussion off, lets assume a situation where you won’t be drinking or doing anything potentially dangerous. Also assume that no subsequent engagement/activity depends on your getting home at the precise time you identified.
Here’s a generic example: assume after dinner on a weeknight you are going to a 7 p.m. meeting of a club/PTA/scouts/etc. Your family has nothing else planned for the evening. You assume you’ll be home by 9, but aren’t sure as you have never met with this particular group before. At the time you leave the house, you understand that your SO will simply be hanging arond the house and going to bed as most normal weeknights.