Advise please....I reside with my Significant Other (SO) about 1-1/2 years now and ....?
plan on going on a trip to visit my family in another state many many miles away over the Thanksgiving Holiday. He is not interested in attending....my children all have other plans...should I fly alone and visit my family or should I insist that he go..Personally It doesn't bother me that he doesn't want to go....as I do realize this is my family not his...and 2nd Is it my responsibility to pay for his flight should he decide to go???
You can't make him go, but you can observe and make a mental note for the future. If you have certain expectations, you need to communicate them clearly. Your question is a contradiction - you say it doesn't bother you that he won't go, and yet in the same breath you're asking if you should "insist" that he goes? The most important thing is not the exact way you handle your family trips, but whether or not your and his needs are being met. My husband and I are in agreement that it's important for us to visit our families together; what you and your significant other agree upon is up to the two of you. But you do have to agree on something. Don't just pretend that it "doesn't bother you" that he doesn't want to hang out with your family, while the whole time it's eating at you and is causing disappointment.
I find that when I have to insist, things don't turn out so well. Your SO should have the freedom to choose, although if he loves you you'd think he want to go and make this into a kind of getaway for the two of you. (My husband and I have tons of fun on flights and while waiting in airports!)
If he does decide to go with you, it would be a nice gesture if you did cover the cost of his air fare. After all, he wouldn't be going at all if you're weren't.