Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

New to forum; new to LDR

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    New to forum; new to LDR

    My boyfriend and I met about 2 months ago through an online website. We live about 150 miles from each other which I know seems very close to many of you, but it has its own set of problems. Anyway, we hit it off immediately and I know I'm falling for him and think he feels the same. We are not young (late 40's, early 50's) and have both been married before. However neither of us has ever been in a LDR before and we are having our share of difficulties. For me, the biggest problem is that I have a LOT of free time and he has less than I do. He has a teenage son that is with him every other weekend. We do attempt to get together on Sunday nights after his son goes back to his mother's house, but that doesn't always work out. In addition, he started a new job a month ago that has him traveling and often staying weeknights at the job site. Unfortunately, the current job site is further away -- about a 4 hour drive for me, which makes getting together weeknights impossible. Then other things come up. This weekend he didn't have his son but a cousin was getting married and he had to attend the wedding. It's now been over 2 weeks since I've seen him. The difficulty with living far away and yet tantalizingly close is that there are numerous build ups and let downs on when we can and can't get together. For example, our plan was to get together one weeknight last week and I would get off work early to do that. However, that morning he learned that they would be working late at night and it was a "no go." We were shooting to do the same thing today but as of 6:00 a.m. this morning he wasn't sure what his work schedule would be. He can't text or call from work so I'm sitting here all day wondering if I will be able to see him tonight. He's still working 4 hours away so I'd have to leave early from work in order to reach him at a decent hour.

    I do better when I hear from him in some fashion, but I don't always get a call or text at night. Since the relationship is still pretty new, I'm unsure how much I should stress to him that I really need to hear from him every day. That's seems demanding to me. We haven't said "I love you" but I'm very close to feeling it. Until we do that, I feel like I should just try and chill and see what happens. But it's so very hard, especially when I have so much free time that I could be spending with him. If this keep building, I would have no problem moving to where he is. To do so, I'd have to sell my home and finding a job near him might be difficult but I'm willing to give it a shot. We just aren't there yet and I am not sure what to do in order to have the patience and staying power to see if this is going somewhere. I have trust issues from my marriage and that is made even harder with the distance.

    The biggest help I need right now from you all is to find out what you think I can and should do about keeping in touch daily. Is it okay at this point for me to tell him that I really need to hear from him every day in some fashion or is that too demanding until we both verbalize how strongly we feel about each other? This man is truly something special and I want to try and make this work.

    #2
    Hey, welcome! It's nice to see more old people around here (like me!) The problem of being LDR when you're older is that you've kinda got to throw away all those years of relationship experience, this can be quite different. The most important thing, next to communication, in an LDR is to maintain your own life and hobbies! Because you have so much more free time, of course you want to talk with him, but too much of that may come off as too needy and smothering. I've been with my guy for almost three years, and it took some time to build the relationship to where we got into a comfortable rhythm that worked for both of us. Two months is a pretty short amount of time for busy LDR'ers to be in contact daily, I think, especially when kids and careers are involved. Maybe you're not allowing enough time for things to develop naturally? As time passes, you'll blend your lives together more and more, but you've got to be patient and let it happen on it's own.

    LDR's can be tough, and they aren't for everybody, but if he's worth it, just sit back and see what direction it takes. If you really want daily contact, just send him a cute email and let him know you'd at least like to hear he's alive once per day Even if it's a quick text or message, it's good for now. Then, go find some things to do to keep yourself busy, seriously, it helps, I promise. Don't worry about moving or anything just yet, just like a CDR, these things take time to develop and you don't want to scare him off by thinking about it so soon.

    My boyfriend and I have managed really, really well. We're international, and 4200 miles apart, so I know how it is. Feel free to PM me if you want to know more about how to manage it
    Our separation of each other is an optical illusion of consciousness. ~Albert Einstein

    Comment


      #3
      Thanks for the feedback and the welcome. You are absolutely right about trying to just wait and see what happens. That and staving off loneliness are the hardest things for me. I'm a fairly recent empty nester so I'm trying to reconnect with my hobbies. Next month I'll begin working on my Masters degree and still work FT so hopefully all of that will fill my free time. Plus getting my house ready to sell, just in case.

      Comment


        #4
        Welcome! We're glad to have you here!

        Comment


          #5
          I agree with Moon - keeping yourself busy and maintaining your own life is very important in a LDR. Since you do have a lot of free time, maybe try and find a new hobby. As for communication, suggest that he send you a quick message to let you know he's OK.
          Settling into a routine in an LDR takes time, but soon you'll find one that fits both of your lifestyles. Just be patient and enjoy the development of your relationship If you ever need help, this forum is a great place to come for support and advice

          Comment


            #6
            I too am one of the older ones (we are both 42)
            Even further away, things go wrong with seeing each other.
            We are 600 miles apart. I went home for xmas and we were supposed to be together all but 2 days out of 9. Well, he had to go to his sisters house and hour away xmas eve and day and ended up getting really sick. Didnt hear from him for 3 days (which pissed me off cuz he never does that) and then felt bad cuz he was sick. Then he got called in to work (firefighter/paramedic) and got held over 3 days because everyone was calling off for the holidays. We saw each other 3 days out of 9.
            As for hearing from him more often, maybe just a quick good morning, or good nite text everyday, or hope your day is going well once in a while. After a while, he may get used to it and do it in turn. At this age, we have been thru the bs of the younger relationships. We have a better idea of what we want.
            Communication is the key
            everything happens for a reason. We may never find out what that reason is/was, but there is a reason.

            Comment


              #7
              Thanks again. Yes, I've started to get in the habit of waking early because he leaves for work around 5 a.m. (and works until 7 p.m. or later - poor guy) and I text him to let him know I'm thinking about him and to wish him a good day. He has started responding with the same. I sometimes text during the day even though I know he can't respond. And if he's not working too late or isn't completely exhausted from his day, we usually talk on the phone for a while. It's difficult when plans go awry. The other day I played hooky from work and drove 4 hours to see him. By the time he got off work, we had 2 hours to spend together and then he fell asleep. While it was a good 2 hours , I was a little let down that we didn't get more time. However, I'm going to see him this Sunday night and he'll be more rested and have more time to spend. Whenever I read stories about people who are continents apart, I count myself very lucky.

              Comment

              Working...
              X