Unless you’ve never been in a relationship or haven’t ever left your neighbourhood then you’ll have spent at least some time apart from your partner and friends. If you’re a traveller then you’ll know this feeling only too well, but even if you’re not, in this day and age where it’s probably easier to get a job in Australia than Europe or America, distance will become a part of your life. That means someone you know or even love is going to be out of the picture for a pretty large amount of time. So the question has to be asked, which one is going to last, the friendship or the relationship?
Distance
- There’s an old English saying, ‘distance makes the heart grow fonder.’ It should be distance makes the eyes start to wander, because the first thing that seems to go wrong when you’re living apart is that the opposite sex suddenly becomes more interesting. This is coupled by the fact that you suddenly discover that you’ve got a lot more time to fill than you ever had when you were in the same postcode as your partner.
- Whether it’s sitting in front of the Playstation all day or going out dancing in the clubs at night, you’ll quickly find other people to fill in the gap that your old friends left. Sure your new buddy might have one eye and talk in a strange accent, but hey your old friends weren’t perfect either. It doesn’t mean that you’ve replaced them, but friends are normally a plural so you collect them, while unless you’re into polygamy a partner is singular.
Keeping in Contact
- Regardless of whether the most interesting thing you did all week was wake up and go to work, there’s that need and desire to keep each other updated. Without the ability to physically touch each other then conversations can end up during up, or you might discover jealousy and start to think that the other person is having far too much fun without you around. Even if jealousy isn’t jealousy isn’t an issue, time differences and awkward moments (there’s fifteen people in the room and it’s just not the right time to talk, but this might be your only chance for god knows how long) can make maintaining contact difficult.
- You can phone your friends up once a week or once a year. They’ll always be happy to hear from you, but they are also going to be getting on with their lives perfectly fine without you being around. That’s not to say they won’t miss you, but it’s not like you were sleeping together now was it. You’ve also got your new one eyed friend to keep you company, so things aren’t all that bad.
Coming Together
- After so much time apart, coming back together can be a challenge. You will have to make alter your lifestyle and the way you do things. Changes in character have to be accounted for and well, you just need to try and find that groove.
- Returning home after a year or more will mean that you have become the equivalent of the Christmas puppy. Everybody will want to catch up with you and see how you’ve been. There will be a lot of talk about times missed and years passed, but you’ll quickly get back into the here and now and resume the friendship where you left it off.
Friendships Relationships
