Finding Beauty in Unexpected Places, Day 15b: Coming Full Circle

I know many of you reading are or have been in a long distance relationships. I know that I've sat in coffee shops with some of you and heard you tell me about the struggles of these relationships, and all I can do is nod in agreement. I really have no advice to offer. Ben and I were in a long distance relationship for two years, and we never figured it out. I don't think anyone ever does. It sucks, and then it sucks some more.

During those two years, I began to loathe airports the way most people loathe hospitals. I thought of "Leaving on a Jet Plane" as a theme for our relationship. It was the Peter, Paul, & Mary or John Denver version of the song - sad, heartbreaking, always verging on tears.

At the concert tonight, Gaelic Storm covered this same song. True to their style, their version is happy, upbeat, and celebratory. I couldn't help but think back five years (yikes!) to all those sad drives from Washington, D.C. when this song played mournfully in my head. Now here we were, bouncing up and down next to each other, clapping, singing along joyfully to this same song. It's one of those moments where I felt like we had come full circle.

So yes, long distance relationships suck and then they suck some more. But they aren't forever. And there will come a time somewhere down the road where you will laugh in the face of those sad memories and realize they are in your past and that no matter what obstacles you face in the present are future, you are together. And knowing the alternative, you will be so grateful for that gift.