the dreaded LDR

I'm already somewhat of an expert on relationships at a distance. Tom and I met at college, so during summers and Christmas we were separated by 8 hours and a state line. Since I moved home in December, it's been the same thing, but we've seen each other twice. This means that I'm on a first name basis with almost every non-sketchy gas station/rest stop between our houses, and I've memorized where all the speed traps are and where the speed limits change. It's a great skill to have. Easter weekend, I'll put those skills to use by driving to see Tom at his house, spend a day in his hometown to meet with the jeweler, then drive to Dallas for a wedding, and then drive back to Texas the next day. It'll add up to about 20 hours in the car, spread out between Thursday and Sunday.

In May, I have a wedding in our college town, and Tom's graduation for his master's degree the weekend after. One of those trips will be by plane, and the other will be another drive. (My car is an awesome road trip car though, so I'm lucky.)

The sad thing is that come September, getting to see each other will be so much harder. Spain is at least a 19 hour trip, depending on how I fly, and thousands of dollars. This means I'll see Tom at Christmas for sure, and maybe for a week at some point, if he can afford to take that much time off of work, and then not again until June. That's a long time, especially when we'll be still planning a wedding that will happen 5 months after I get back. It's going to be hard to have a "normal" relationship with that amount of distance and quite a difference in time changes.

Here are my methods to keep us from going crazy (please remind me of them when I'm over there):

1. Skype every weekend. It's the only time we'll know for sure we won't have work and can handle the time changes.
2. Email daily. We do this semi-regularly now, but it'll be the main way to communicate since talking on the phone/Skype is too hard to manage with work.
3. This blog will hopefully give him another view of my life....the places I go, and adventures I have that I forget to mention in an email, or don't write enough about.
4. Pictures. It's hard to only have old pictures to look at, so I plan on emailing him pictures of me in all the places I talk about and to show him my life here.
5. Being grateful for what we have. We're lucky that I can do this and that we're supportive of each other. We need to remember that.
6. Look forward to the wedding. It shouldn't be that hard...it is the day I finally get to marry my soul-mate and end the LDR.

plans...i have them.

"Adventure is out there!" My favorite quote from my favorite movie. If you don't know me, imagine Ellie from Up in real life, minus the job at the zoo. Now throw in blonde hair, a teaching degree, and a love of all things blue, and you've got me- Becca. I even have the strong silent type as my fiance. He's all about adventure too, but he's much quieter about it. We're officially starting our adventures post-college, and I'm using this blog as a way to remember all the excitement.

I am officially accepted to teach English in Spain for 10 months! I leave September 4th, 2011, and I'll be back for good around June 1st, 2012. I don't know where I'll be, or what ages I'll be working with, but I'm so excited to know what I'll be doing for 10 months! I'll come back a certified ESL teacher and hopefully bilingual.

I'm 575 days away from getting married to the love of my life. He's finishing his Master's in rocket science, and will then be working. Yes, he's fine with me living on another continent for that long. Yes, I'm well aware he's pretty awesome.

Stay tuned for the adventures of wedding planning, my life in Spain, and everything else.