Not only has the recession been putting a strain on personal financial challenges, it has also been adding new stresses to relationships.  Long distance relationships, newlyweds, and casual dating have all been hit hard by the country’s economic downward spiral over the last couple years.  The good news is that we are all being affected fairly equally, but the bad news is that it might be awhile before the situation turns around.
If you have been feeling this recent economic relationship strain, don’t worry because you are not alone.  I have been hearing about new and challenging issues from friends and …read more

In a long distance relationship there are two separate relationships:  the one when you are apart and the one when you are together.  The interactions between you and your long distance partner are entirely different from when you are communicating by phone to when you are communicating face to face.
I want to address the issue of the transition between being apart and being together.  When you are in a long distance relationship you look oh-so-forward to those wonderful weekends that you get to spend in the same place.  For one weekend you think that you will be like normal couples …read more

One of the things that I do not like about being in a long distance relationship is spending the holidays without my partner. Sometimes I feel like I will never have the kind of relationship that other people take for granted. Then, I get disgusted with myself for being so poor-me.
I had a good 4th of July holiday. I enjoyed my family and my friends stopped by for a visit in the evening, but I could not help wishing for a different sort of day next year. I’d like someone to plan with and shop with and cook with. I’d like …read more

My long distance boyfriend and I hit a bit of a rough patch. It can happen when you are dating someone you see often, but when you are dating someone you rarely get to actually date, it can spring out of nowhere and it can be brutal.
As I’ve mentioned before, talking to someone on the phone, you miss a lot of those cues. Texting is even worse and no matter how many times I say, “I don’t want to talk about serious things while texting,” we do just that – we talk about serious things while texting. We argue with …read more

My boyfriend flew home today. I drove him down to the airport this morning and was able to drive back home before he arrived back in Colorado.  Along his route, I got updates like, “…landed in L.A.” or “…arrived early,” and then the photos started coming. That boy and his iPhone… I love the way it allows him to share his life with me.

Here are the things I learned about us this week:
*The first night is tricky, but every night thereafter, I sleep better beside someone that I love. Plus, I feel that I can safely sleep with the …read more

As I mentioned, my boyfriend is in town for a visit. We are hanging out, having fun, talking without the phone (yay!). Getting to know each other better is a learning process.  Before he arrived, I wanted to have some snacks around, but I had no idea what he likes in the way of munchies. So far I’ve learned this: yes on crackers, yes on chips, no on sweets. Interesting. He’s a salty guy, apparently.
What does this say? Is it a peek into his psyche?  No, you silly girl. We are just talking snacks…. It also tells me that my …read more

My boyfriend will be arriving in two days. I keep thinking the day is almost here, it’s almost here, it’s almost here… and each day it’s just a little bit more almost-er.
This morning, he sent me a good morning text, as he does every morning. (He’s very attentive that way).
Being that it’s a work morning and he is in a different time zone, it woke me up. I don’t mind, I love any and all contact with him, but the message mentioned, “only 2 more days,” and I was so excited.  I could not go back to sleep.
Instead, I …read more

Long distance relationships come with a very specific set of challenges. Distance forces things to move along at a pretty rapid clip – you move forward or you move on. It’s that simple.
Neither option is simple in itself, though. Moving on means missed opportunities and unanswered questions about what if, if only, and might have been.
Moving forward means a person will examine their intentions in depth and question what they want, what their partner wants until they feel as if their head may crack open, sending all those well-examined thoughts spilling out on the floor. (Ooh, that was kind of …read more

I don’t know if you’ve ever been involved in a long distance relationship, but if you have, then you will know what I mean when I say that they don’t follow the same time table as dating somebody local does.
The distance forces you to question the attraction, the relationship, and where you see it going very early on. It’s expensive to travel and to take time off work. You want to be sure, so you talk it to death in your head and if you are lucky, you talk it to death with your new partner.
And if you don’t, …read more

I’m not new to dating. I’m 42 years old.I’ve been married and divorced. I had a couple of live-in relationships – one when I was 19 and then one when I was a young mother of 27. I took a long break from dating for a few years, when I felt that I was not making good decisions in regards to the men (like still sleeping with my ex-husband)  that I chose and the behavior that I would tolerate (again, still sleeping with my ex-husband). 
At the end of this long break, I began to meet men for coffee dates, and then …read more