MissMelissa

Thank you VERY much for your responses. To clear a few things up: He was working a short-term job when we met, to help out a friend, so his hours were much more flexible. He works for himself now, which means longer hours for more pay. I am good with this, as his hours will decrease greatly in the fall, so there is an end-date in sight. We HAVE discussed, VERY generally, long-term goals and he did say he wants us to work towards living together in the future. I would move to him because his area has more options for employment. I do not mind the every other weekend set-up, nor do I mind the drive to his every other weekend. It is a getaway, of sorts, for me and I rather enjoy it. He has not complained about driving to mine and, in fact, is coming down this weekend to mow my lawn and repair my broken back deck. At HIS insistence. His children are 15, and I've not met them, so I haven't been involved in his "kid weekends" yet, but that is something we're working towards. My kids are adults and only one lives with me full time. He is ABSOLUTELY not back-tracking at all, and is as committed to our relationship as he ever was. I am not concerned that he is losing interest or having second thoughts. We have both stressed that, if it feels like one of us is feeling a certain way, we will have a discussion. I will definitely be having the conversation with him this weekend about how we can continue to move forward in our relationship, and the importance of getting back to our weekly dinner dates. He did drive to mine on a Tuesday evening and spent the night, leaving for work when I did, so we might need to explore doing that once or twice a month as an option. Thanks again for your comments. I definitely have some thinking to do. M-

Not sure if 1.5 hours qualifies as "long distance" (but it sure feels like it). First date was mid-February, and we met at least once per week until late March. Our dates lasted from 3 to 4 hours, full of talking and laughter. He (52M) asked me (52F) to be exclusive and we started spending every other weekend together (he has visitation with kids) and we would meet for dinner once during the week. This is approx. a 40-minute drive for me, and an hour drive for him, and he is also one hour ahead of me. We were doing great until mid May, when he started working longer hours, which has caused us to miss 3 of our weekly dinners. I have been understanding and accepting, but am having a hard time dealing with the two-week gaps this creates. Last night I told him that I am feeling disconnected from him, and that we need to get back to our weekly dinner meeting, in addition to our every other weekend schedule. He said, We talk on the phone almost every evening, and we text throughout the day. I tried to explain to him that I don't bond through phone calls and text messages, that I need one-on-one time. And, while he seemed to understand it, I feel like this is a "me" problem. Dating him has been amazing. He is attentive, caring, responsive, giving, funny .... everything I want in a partner. But I am really struggling with the limited time together, and am feeling the slow shift of emotions, which makes me very sad. I guess I'm looking for some advice, some ideas, SOMETHING to help me bridge this summer gap and keep this relationship moving forward. He is coming to mine for the weekend, and I would love to have some ideas to share with him. Thank you!!