Going the Distance

Someone once told me, "Relationships are made out of convenience." People meet and stay together when it's most convenient for them. If you think about it, it's kind of true. Your mom and dad said they met in college, another couple met in the line at the post office on a certain day, and other people met by sharing a broken down elevator together. Yep, I've heard all these stories. What they all have in common is one thing, the right place at the right time. Coming from a divorced family, you realize relationships are all about timing. My father, who actually told me this quote, experienced this firsthand. He met his future wife, my stepmom, while he was living in Texas and she was in Tennessee. Well as fate would have it, they fell in love. Six states away. Basically convenience became an issue and they both knew they had to do something to salvage their relationship. So my stepmom, Shelby, packed up her bags and moved to Texas three weeks after meeting my dad. Too soon, some would say, but eight years later they're still going strong. And they credit the lack of distance between them.

After hearing this story you wonder do long distance relationships really work? Can people actually go the distance? Obviously there are people who have tested this and proved that long distance relationships can work. Props to them. I, however, am somewhat skeptical. That saying "distance makes the heart grow fonder" is true. But how long does that distance have to be? And what if the opposite happens, and you forget about them? Although I stand by my theory that relationships are formed from convenience, there are examples that make me doubt my theories. Look at all the wives and husbands who have spouses in the war overseas. One of them is my cousin and her new husband. Through Skype and "Dear John" letters, they make it work. It's cute, true love stories like this that give us hope. Overall though one thing's for sure. If you want to make it convenient for you, it'll happen. If you make the effort and go the extra mile (or thousands of miles), long distance relationships can work. It's just how much you're willing to tread that'll make the difference.