LDR

When Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet, he must have known that the greatest romance story comes in the form of tragedy. The Capulets' and Montagues' family feud prevented the star-crossed lovers from being together. And when they finally could, all the drama happened- he thought she died and killed himself and when she wakes up to find him dead she kills herself too.

In the modern world today, i believe that romance still exists in tragedy- in the from of Long Distance Relationship (LDR).


Mountain man and i graduated from the school of LDR. 8 months, that was how long we lasted before i uprooted myself to end the misery. But now that i look back, i tend to agree with Shakespeare. My favourite song from DCFC (Transatlanticism) tells me that two people can be together physically, and yet still grow apart emotionally as if they were cross continent... I consoled myself that we were the opposite. Although masses of land came in btwn us, but we were definitely connected...

This may come across as mushy (mountain man won't like...), but I never knew that my capacity to feel was that much until i met mountain man. The highs were high, and the lows were bottomless. I remember crying alot when days were hard. I cried even more when Mountain Man leaves. I still feel it today when i watch movies about lovers parting (even when it's a comedy). And after he goes, the yearning can be heart-wrenching... The thought of going back to communication via cyberspace kills me. It was not easy at all, painful in fact. But i still hold on to those memories dearly. I feel privileged to understand what love means.

I soon became a pro in what i call the LDR survival skills--MSN, Skype, web-cam, creating tiny mobi-sodes, and budget long distance calls... and that was also why i started blogging- to fill in the conversation gaps between our web chats. I was always online, and always chatting til 3am in the morning, and then falling asleep wishing he'd keep me up with the snoring.


LDR's challenge is not just about the lack of the physical element. Feeling insecure is also very common. SOmetimes u'll wonder if the one-dimensional communication via cyberspace gives u a full picture of a person, like what if he isn't wat he says he is? Doubts are certain. So LDR teaches us to trust, to respect and being accountable. These 3 make the basic foundation of any successful relationship, and LDR helps us learn the hard way.

At the end of the day, the secret ingredient to LDR is rewarding yourself with commitment of love. There must be a next-step in sight. A motivation that drives the relationship going...Always remember that LDR is short term and then define what "short-term" is.

It's like running a marathon right? The end point and what awaits u is the impetus to keep going.