Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Dreadred LDR?

Long distance relationships. More than 1.7 million American couples live in seperate cities. More than forty percent of these couples are married. That means that 1.4 million married people live apart, and happily so. Is this a rising trend? More so, is there even the distant possibility for love in long distance relationships?

For some people, it works, maintaining a relationship with someone special, and keeping the status quo in their lives. Communication is the tool vital to a healthy relationship over the miles. With the internet, cell phones, webcams, and even snail mail, this should be easy, right?

Not always. The disadvantage is in the lack of touching, of smelling, the memory's most powerful sense. One half may be enjoying the distance. The other can wind up feeling like their relationship is akin to a frozen computer screen. You've clicked the 'X' in the corner of the screen, but nothing is moving. Sure, the mouse moves, but nothing on the screen reacts. Why? Maybe it's the fault of a dead cell phone battery. Maybe they haven't checked their inbox. Maybe... are they ignoring... no... maybe?

It's this indecisiveness, this room for possibility, that can quake the bridge of a relationship. Then again, this is true in any relationship. An unsure pause, a misheard reply... these are The Things We Carry in our connections to one another. These can also be The Things We Drop, or more literally, the reasons why we drop our relationships.

So, if the partnership can end in the short distance as easily as in the long distance, why not find someone really great, someone really special, and choose to connect with them, over the miles, over the hours, over the phone. Be stingy with your heart. You've only got one.






"Most important, being far apart gives you a chance to maintain your individuality - something that can get lost in the shuffle when couples spend all their free time together. " (http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Long-Distance-Relationship-Work)



"According to stats compiled by the Center for the Study of Long-Distance Relationships (yes, there really is such a thing), the myth that most long-distance relationships fail is just that: a myth. The reality is that more couples are making it work than you might think. Over one million couples are living in separate U.S. cities today, and another 700,000 LDR couples are actually married." http://www.askmen.com/dating/heidi_200/218_dating_girl.html

Absence makes the heart grow fonder? "Distance dating"