Long Relationships

My husband and I are both creative writers and both write a combination of poetry and novels. (I lean towards novels and he leans towards poetry.) We both joined an online forum for creative writing and noticed each other but didn’t talk much.

One night, we were both online and knew someone else from the site who introduced us to each other (via instant messenger). I guess you could say it was love at first chat session because we talked one way or another for almost every day for a year after we met.

I kept the relationship rather quiet because I didn’t have a supportive family when it came to internet relationships. My parents didn’t (and probably still don’t) know how to turn on a computer, much less use the internet. Because of that, they bought into every internet horror story they ever heard on the news despite the fact I a.) wasn’t twelve years old and b.) wasn’t meeting random people from MySpace in bars.

Eventually my brother calmed her down and explained to her that the internet was how a lot of people met and, taking the right precautions, it could be perfectly safe. And he’s right. More and more people are meeting online and starting relationships from there.

So I thought I would put up a poll (because I love polls even more than lists) to find out what the readers here have done and feel when it comes to online relationships. Feel free to add on your story and/or thoughts in the comments section!

PS. Tomorrow is Reader Appreciation Day! Be sure to stop by again and see what you have to do to get your chance to win not one, but TWO awesome prizes!

As Valentines Day draws closer, I can’t help but think of the couples who must spend the lovely day apart. Some are separated by a few hours and some are separated by whole countries.

Some get separated for a few days and some for a few months.
Be it the Army or work, there are a lot of things that can mean time away from each other for couples.

Time separated can be a breath of fresh air sometimes, but separations that happen often and/or for long lengths of time can put a lot of stress on a couple.

Last year my husband and I put in my spousal visa and we didn’t know if I would be forced to leave the country while the application was being processed (due to timing) or if I would be able to stay while things were being sorted out.

The prospect of being separated for an unknown amount of time scared me so much and sent me into tears many nights.

Thankfully, I got to stay in the country and everything worked out. Unfortunately, things don’t work so well for other couples.

Always remember that there are things you can do to stay close to your partner even when s/he is not physically with you:

1. Email!
2. Postal letters
3. Phone calls (and phone sex)
4. If the above things aren’t possible, for every day your loved one is away, write a love letter. That way, when s/he comes home, s/he has a whole pile of love letters to read.