Precious Partings

Dear Reader,

My boyfriend is a very busy guy. Last week he flew across the country for a work trip for a few days and already this evening he is flying out to Europe for another one. Balancing work, life, and everything else can be hard enough under normal circumstances, however, when you add travel into the mix it can be rather difficult to develop a routine. One routine though, that I hope we can commit to is always saying a proper goodbye before one of us departs for a trip. Even though we will only be apart for less than a week this time (and I will [hopefully!] be able to join for the Russian leg of his journey), I think it is very important to send your special someone well wishes on their travels.

Work travel can fill one with a wide range of emotions. It can leave us feeling like we’ve put in twice as many hours and have gotten half as much done. Feelings of exhaustion, impatience, and loneliness happen, however, so can excitement, curiosity, and wonderment. If you are in a relationship with someone who must often leave, it is important for each of you to know that your partner is there for you, especially when they can’t physically be there for you.

My boyfriend and I have very busy schedules, so we can’t always make elaborate “goodbye” plans. At one point in our relationship, we coincidentally made dinner plans at the same Mexican restaurant the night before two of his international trips. This unofficially became our “goodbye restaurant.” Today was a busy day and we knew that we could not schedule anything special for our goodbye parting. Therefore, yesterday, we made the very romantic plans of getting flu shots together. What could be more exciting than a 30-minute rendez vous to CVS? Knowing that you’re protected from the influence virus while traveling, that’s what! After the flu shot, we went to Tatte (I like Tatte too much… read more here) for midday pastries. 

Life is all about the moments. While I love to travel and will always anxiously/ excitedly anticipate my next trip (more on this here), I’m learning more and more to appreciate the wait time in between. I don’t want to sound too morbid, but we don’t know how many moments that we or the ones we care about have left. If we treat more of our little moments–like a goodbye hug–like a precious event, then we can appreciate our time more and live with less regret. On the bright side, Dear Reader, I did not have to say goodbye to my boyfriend today, just “farewell, my love, until we meet again, very, very soon!”

Love,

Raven