This Post is for Three

I really, really, really like my privacy. You wouldn't think so as a blogger, but we are all filled with ironies.

When it comes to relationships, I'm more private than usual. Early on, the existence of this person had to be virtually dragged out of me and I secretly resented it. If there's anything I resent, it's being told how I should feel or should behave. I resented being told long-distance relationships are so difficult and I resented the raised eyebrows.

A part of life and relationships is learning to be comfortable with yourself. When it comes to my profession or living locations, I'm extremely confident in my unorthodox choices. In fact, I have this blog where I make snarky self-deprecating and self-righteous comments on this. Yet when it comes to relationships, I can wilt under social pressure. The lesson for year three has been that I'm allowed to be confident in my decision. "This is the person I choose. Yes, we live in different countries. We have lasted all this time. Yes, I still choose him." I remind myself that it doesn't matter. What matters is that something phenomenal exists with someone else that withstands time and space. And for what it's worth, outlasting the impossible is rewarding.

So...three years? Two countries? Two different stories that we somehow intertwine? It's not for everyone. But sometimes you meet someone you can't let go; someone who tolerates the ups and downs, the self-deprecation and the pity, the ongoing narrative of you trying to identify yourself among all the places you've called home and will call home, someone who genuinely appreciates your story, who meets you half way.

For three years with this remarkable person, I would do it over again gladly. Our narrative oddly fits with the narrative of my life. Like my personal narrative, as confusing, indirect, or inefficient as it is, I wouldn't trade it.