Month: May 2013

I chose the cheezy title on purpose.  Those are some of my favorite lines from books, TV movies and print ads.  Why I say washed ashore because I’ve been asking around to those who I know are knee deep in the dating game about the topic of taking a vacation with the person you are dating or in a relationship with.  How soon is too soon?  What if you meet your significant other while on vacation,  does that change the course of the relationship?

When I was younger, I always had these time limits for everything.  I felt that things had to occur in a matter of time before it was acceptable to do something else.  Now that I’m older, I’ve adapted a new mentality when it comes to dating especially.  There is a time and place for everything, but the time and place change from person to person.  Sometimes you have to give them time to feel comfortable enough to want to move forward or they have to feel comfortable enough to ask you out.  I have met couples who met, date and got married in under a year, others it takes them years to even consider the possibility of wanting to date casually.  When it comes to traveling, this is somewhat unknown territory.  I know some feel that when you travel with someone else, that implies you two are in a very serious and committed relationship and some who feel that their travel buddy is just that, a travel buddy.  It can be nice to have that companionship and can come in handy when dealing with luggage.

I have gone on vacation with a boyfriend before and it showed me who the person really was and helped me in deciding if I really wanted to move forward with them or not – usually things went well on vacation but the relationship didn’t last past the trip.  My Mom gave some good advice when I was younger in picking a mate.  She advised me to watch how the other person behaves during stressful situations, their jealousy, when and how they get angry, and their relationship with their family, specifically their own Mother.  These will give you great insight on how the other person will treat you, your relationship and how your future will be.

I say, start slow – do local, over night trips and build toward something bigger.  Sometimes a stay-cation (spending time alone at home) is more telling than traveling hundreds of miles to find out how things really are between you.  Let love rule so that when the bad times strike, you won’t lose your footing.