• Give a Gift
  • Customer Service
  • Promotions
  • Videos
  • Blogs
  • Win
  • Games

November 7, 2006

2000 Miles For Dinner - What Was I Thinking?

Share
man standing in airport watching plane take off through window

Photo Credit: EG Digital/iStock

Special Offer

We'd only met three weeks before and had been separated by 2000 miles since then, but Jenny and I were e mailing 10 times a day, talking on the phone every night, and hadn't had an awkward silence yet. So as I awaited her response to my offer to fly across the country and take her out to dinner, I was mentally measuring myself for the maroon velvet smoking jacket I would now require as the jet setting playboy I had clearly become.

But what I thought of as James Bond ishly bold seemed to strike Jenny as Austin Powers ly not, and she declined. I reminded myself that long distance romance was something no one did well. But the physical space between us wasn't the only problem, because the toughest distance to cross isn't measured in miles, or even inches, but in the micro leaps that separate one person's reality from another's. Sometimes there's no distance as great as the thickness of a human skull, the tundra like expanse of the kitchen table, the light years between two pillows on a queen size bed. That's why every relationship can feel like a long distance one.

Like many people, I have a history with the literal kind of LDR. When I was in my 20s, I had the romantic metabolism of a housefly. I was always buzzing around my girlfriends, noisy but elusive, too close but unreachable, until finally I would hurl myself at the invisible barrier between us and end up squashed on their patios. Long distance relationships were the only kind I was capable of then-they gave me a built in excuse for my emotional zigzagging, and I was only required to show up a few times a month.


Share
Connect with Marie Claire:
Advertisement
daily giveaway
Win One Hearts on Fire Diamond Shooting Star Pendant!

Win One Hearts on Fire Diamond Shooting Star Pendant!

enter now
Latest blog entries
Marie Claire On The Go
  • Start receiving the day's headlines from topics you choose and get the latest posts from our bloggers. Sign up for RSS feeds now.

  • Take Marie Claire with you everywhere you go. Our mobile site has the latest 'it' items of the season. Including: Blogs, Hair & Beauty, Nutrition, Health & Fitness, Horoscopes and so much more!

    Here's how:

    1. Start a mobile session on your phone
    2. type m.marieclaire.com into your browser
    3. that's it!

  • In Every Issue:
    The one-stop shop
    for the very best in
    fashion & beauty


    Give a Gift
    Customer Service
    Marie Claire Magazine
horoscopes
  • Sponsored Links

more from Relationship Advice

the new american couple
The Accidental Mistress

After a lifetime of serial dating, Kym Canter thought she had finally found Mr. Right. Swept up in a whirlwind romance, they planned a happily ever after life together — until one e-mail changed everything.

man and woman kissing
House Mate

After a string of roommates left Lauren Mechling behind for the cozy confines of coupledom, she wondered when she'd learn to commit, too.

expert sex tips
He Read My Diary!

When a writer's boyfriend found her secret tally of pros and cons about their relationship, she was forced to confront her true feelings.

post a comment

Special Offer
Link Your Marie Claire Account to Facebook
Welcome!

Marie Claire already has an account with this email address. Link your account to use Facebook to sign in to Marie Claire. To insure we protect your account, please fill in your password below.

Forgot Password?

Thanks for Joining

Your information has been saved and an account has been created for you giving you full access to everything marieclaire.com and Hearst Digital Media Network have to offer. To change your username and/or password or complete your profile, click here.

Continue
Your accounts are now linked

You now have full access to everything Marie Claire and Hearst Digital Media Network have to offer. To change your settings or profile, click here.

Continue