An Explanation.

Remember that time I told you I had been hiding a relationship? 

It was not fun to write that. It took me more drafts than I ever write. I debated even writing it. It felt maybe too soon. But then I realized two things: 1. I like writing honestly here. You guys are a weird little social circle for me. 2. You HAVE to hear this. Seriously. I saved part of the story for a separate post. And that's what brings us here today. 

Things ended because of the silence. He stopped communicating with me. That's probably the shittiest part of it. I fought for him, fought for our relationship, and he gave up on me. Two months of silence, excluding a couple "I'm sorry for being bad at this relationship" texts. 

AND THEN...I got a text that changed everything. 

We exchanged a few messages, where I essentially asked where the hell he'd been. I didn't hear back--but time zones. I woke up that Saturday morning to a reply. 

"I guess I just needed some space." 

I shit you not, internet. SPACE. My long distance boyfriend, literally THOUSANDS of miles and the Atlantic Ocean away, needed space. (He guessed.) 

HOW COULD I GIVE HIM MORE SPACE? After thousands of miles, it's really moot to want MORE space, as far as I can figure. More space than that is...single, right? 

He had two months to come up with an answer--he had to figure I'd ask, right? Because I'm human. This man had two months to formulate his reply and the best he can do is SPACE. That's ballsy. It led to quite the rant in my neighbor's driveway as she worked in her garden. (Yes, I went over and stood there yelling in my pajamas. We're really casual in the suburbs.) 

I never got more explanation. That's the last message I got. 

So I gave him more space.

I'm annoyed by technology.

Eight. 

I can count eight apps on my phone, off the top of my head, that allow me to send messages to someone. I'm not even including--

NINE I forgot Words with Friends has a chat feature

--the actual texting and calling features of a phone. Nine things that will put a notification in front of you if I want to get in touch. Nine beeps, buzzes, and tones. No matter where you are or what time it is, I can get a message to you if it's needed. And since you can take your phone pretty much anywhere, there's really very little to excuse not getting in touch these days. As far as phones being forbidden...it's like..airplanes, prisons, and jury duty, right? Oh, and the summer camps I do.
As smart phones soared in popularity and became the ubiquitous accessory they are now, I slowly steeled myself to the idea that people were probably tweeting and pooping at the same time, at least some of the time. 

We're not talking about pooping while texting today, though. My point with this is that really, what are valid excuses for not getting in touch with someone? When people say their boyfriend, girlfriend, whatever isn't getting back to them, I have some questions. Is this person a surgeon? Are they on call at the hospital and had to deliver a baby? Does this person work for a government agency? I'm told some of those places don't allow employees to keep phones on them. Is this person flying to Australia and in the air for days on end? Did this person swear off technology and embrace a simpler life? Are they an astronaut on the International Space Station? 

No? Well then you should be hearing back within a couple days. There's no excuse for radio silence, especially in the dating arena. 


(I promise I don't tweet in the bathroom, guys. I wouldn't do that to you.)