Sprint to Sprint Pays Off in the End

Long Distance. Thanks to cell phones, no longer do we look at these two words and think of an insurmountable phone bill.

Instead, it's strictly thought of as a relationship that has a 5 percent survival chance/rate in minds of most who aren't in one. I'll be honest with you, I'm not a big fan of them personally.

Area code relationships - that are committed - take an extreme amount of patience. Patience that most inhabitants of this earth don't have. Think about it. What other species do you know that commits to relationships of long distance? Right. I can't think of any either.

But, to some degree, I came to the conclusion that a long distance experience can be a healthy learning vice during one's life. In essence, the two most important aspects of any relationship, conversation and trust, are the only things that really matter in a long distance situation, and they can stabilize a relationship that has true commitment.

I'm not discounting the importance of face-to-face interaction, and the growth that is achieved from seeing someone frequently. Nor is this some ill-fated plea to seek out my own personal long-distance drama.

I just believe that say a month or two of long distance at some point in your relationship, if not more, can go a long way as to show where your relationship really stands. I mean, if there's great converstaion and you can trust the person while they're gone (meaning there's no need to deduce their whereabouts) then I think you have a good foundation to sustain your relationship in person.

But if your partner is brand new - i.e., you can't get the nourishment that you need for yourself in the relationship or even 20 minutes of "hey, how was your day?" - once they've changed area codes, maybe it's time for you to jump ship for a while.

I mean, what if you're in the same city, pursuing your careers at 60 hours a week, and there's not much face-to-face time? It's almost exactly like a long distance relationship. You converse and trust that your mate isn't dipping out on you. And if they can't do that from Florida to New York, I doubt that they'll be as faithful as they should be if the distance is say I-95 to Collins in Miami.

I've realized from past mistakes and long distance relationships just how important conversation and trust are. If you're missing one, you have nothing. Operating long distance makes these two things blatantly obvious, and give you the ability make the decision to jump ship or stay aboard a lot sooner than than they otherwise would.

And as a good friend once told me, jumping ship isn't that hard "when the person is 2000 miles away." Hell, go deep-sea diving until you find whatever it is that your heart truly desires. Be thankful that you at least gave long distance a try and grateful that it didn't cost you an arm, leg and two fingers because of Sprint to Sprint.