Dear E. Jean: I’m a 25-year-old marine biologist researching dolphins in Southern California. This past year, I met a man and have fallen very deeply in love. (I didn’t think I was capable of it!) He’s extremely kind, generous, considerate, passionate, thoughtful, attractive, outdoorsy, and adventurous. But he is soon moving to Colorado to pursue his career in the Rocky Mountains. I’m happy that he will be doing what he loves, Miss Eeee, but I’m so sad to lose him! He feels the same about me. I’m not interested in a long-distance relationship—it seems irrational to commit to someone when we have no future plans to live in the same area. I’m so frustrated by it all! He wants to be in the mountains, and my life is by the sea. What are we to do? —Sidetracked in SoCal
Miss Side, My Luv: What the hell are you talking about? Didn’t you surprise yourself when you fell in love? Your exact words: “I didn’t think I was capable of it!” And now you’re so hip, so slick, so wise in the ways of love you won’t even consider your boyfriend’s happiness? You refuse to try—repeat, try—a six-month long-distance relationship? Woman, pull yourself together and give it a whirl. The dolphins, I believe, will back Auntie Eeee up.
This letter is from the Ask E. Jean Archive, 1993-2017. Send questions to E. Jean at E.Jean@AskEJean.com.