Posted on

Distant and Stagnant

Q: Dear Love Jays,

I’m in a relationship with someone I met online on a community website, and we are now in a relationship, the thing is he lives in another state and we only see each other every 2 months when one of us flies to each other. It seems he has no intention whatsoever of moving to California and he doesn’t seem as committed as I am, should I bother investing anymore in this relationship? Or should I just hang on and see how it goes? So far he still seems willing to meet every 2 months and it has been 1 year, but he doesn’t seem willing do much else…

A: Dear Struggling from Distance,

Long distance relationships are difficult to maintain and will test even the strongest people. A few weeks ago, I touched on this very subject and provided a key ingredient that most long distance relationships lack.

You have already invested a year into this relationship. but it seems obvious your significant other isn’t willing to make the appropriate changes you feel will make the relationship stronger. The two of you could remain on this current pattern of seeing each other every 2 months, but would this routine make you happy? I continually emphasize happiness in the majority of my writings because far too often, many people are willing to sacrifice it just to make someone else happy.

It is important to understand that relationships do require the participation of both parties, so it is only fair to discuss his opinions on the relationship and what changes could be made. I’m sure your answer will become quite clear after a few small conversations. Whatever decision you decide to follow, please don’t just “hang on” for the sake of having a boyfriend because I promise you, it will only make things worse in the future.

Sincerely,

Mr. J

A: Dear Every 2 Months,

Part of me wants to say “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”, but the larger part of me wants to say it’s time to jump ship. You are both comfortable where you currently live and you aren’t budging. If you are okay with seeing each other in person 6 times a year, with no promise of it going any further, then stick to it. Why just ride it out when you can already see you aren’t going to end up at the right destination?  He has already proved how committed he is willing to be at this point in time. If you need more and you do not demand a change, I am pretty sure it will stay the same. Woman to woman, I say walk away. If he comes after you that’s great, but if not you will be open to finding love a little closer to home. Good Luck!

Love,

Miss J

Have a Question for the Love Jays?

[contact-form][contact-field label=’SUBMIT QUESTIONS ANONYMOUSLY BELOW: ‘ type=’textarea’/][/contact-form]

*By submitting your question to the love jays you grant them the right to publish your question and the answer  in all media.

© LoveJays 2012

Posted on

In Love with a Younger Man

Q: Dear Love Jays,


I’m in a relationship with someone who is a couple of years younger than me. We have been together for a while and I know that we are in love. However, I know that in a few years I will be at an age ready for marriage, but he will still be pretty young and probably not ready. Should I let our love dictate when we will think about marriage? Or should I find someone who is around the same age making their way towards settling down and starting a family?

A: Dear Marriage on the Mind,

I’m going to ask you one simple question: What is the right age to get married?

A very important principle that is misunderstood by popular culture is the idea that marriage should be reserved for people in a specific age bracket. Growing up, males are often told, “Son, you have the rest of your life to be married – go out, meet people and have fun!” While I do agree with this advice in some manner, I also disagree with it. This way of thinking may easily result in someone (male or female) pushing away their true partner simply because “it’s not the right time” or “I’m too young to marry this person”.

Newsflash: LOVE IS NOT CONVENIENT.

I understand age is a strong representation of our emotional and physical maturity, but it should not be used as the sole determining factor in deciding whether or not one should get married. Let’s be honest, you have absolutely zero insight into knowing if he – or even YOU – will be ready for marriage in a “few years”. Just because you may be “age-ready” doesn’t mean you will be “love-ready” or “mentally-ready”. The most important factor in a marriage is simple – love. Let your love decide when it’s time to get married! In the meantime, continue strengthening the connection between your significant other and let time play it’s role. Life happens day-by-day, not year-by-year.

And for this question: “Or should I find someone who is around the same age making their way towards settling down and starting a family?” Just re-read the question multiple times and see how foolish it really sounds.

Sincerely,

Mr. J

A: Dear for Love’s Sake,

Let me get this straight…you are asking if you should leave your current boyfriend (whom you love) because you want to get married in a couple of years and that MAY be enough time to find someone else who also wants to get married soon; meanwhile the man you love will marry someone else in another couple of years  and have the life you could have had if you were just a little more patient?

Let me ask you this, given the choice would you rather have an okay life with almost everything you want in 2 years or the life you really want in 4 years?

True love is a gift; you should never have to choose between being in love or getting married. They should go hand in hand. You want to be in a place where you want to get married BECAUSE you are in love. There is no way to know whether or not he will be ready to marry in a couple years, you don’t even know if you will really be ready. All women have a timeline, but if you ask most of them they will say things did not quite go as planned. If you are happy,not just content – I mean really really happy in your relationship, you should stay. Love is not guaranteed and neither is marriage, if you found a good one you should hold on to him! Things will progress naturally no matter his age.

I completely understand why you feel you have to get married/have children by a certain age. As women, we are very aware of our biological clock and we know our baby maker will only work for so long.

Is he aware of your concerns or are you just assuming he is not thinking about it and will not think about it anytime soon? In any relationship, it is important for you to communicate your expectations with your significant other. Ask him what age he thinks he wants to get married and how many kids he wants. I remember when Mr. J and I first started talking about when we wanted to get married (at this point we were not even discussing marrying each other) I said I wanted to be 28 and he said he wanted to be 30. I can tell you now, that’s not happening. We definitely over shot.  Things change and people change their minds. On the flip side, if you have “the conversation” and he says he never wants to get married and never wants to have kids you might want to reevaluate. So that’s my advice, talk to the man! You may even be surprised by his answer!

Love,

Miss J

Have a Question for the Love Jays?

[contact-form][contact-field label=’SUBMIT QUESTIONS ANONYMOUSLY BELOW:’ type=’textarea’/][/contact-form]

*By submitting your question to the love jays you grant them the right to publish your question and the answer  in all media.

© LoveJays 2012

Posted on

Phone Sex and Girl Friends

For the Ladies…

Last night I attended a screening for the movie “For a Good Time,Call…”. I went with a girlfriend of mine, it was a total chick flick and good for at least 100 laughs; although I am pretty sure I have heard enough moans and “squishy” noises to last a lifetime! On the surface the story is about two girls who (due to a mishap in college) do not get along, become roommates because of financial hardship and a breakup, start a phone sex hotline for money and eventually make bank.

*Spoiler Alert*

Underneath the surface the movie is really about the development of a female friendship. Starting and maintaining a friendship with another female is always such a process, and it made me wonder why? It then dawned on me (and the movie came to the same conclusion) that a friendship is very similar to a romantic relationship….minus the romance. These are what I feel the stages in most (not all) female friendships are.

In the movie, the friendship was initiated by one of the characters helping the other character start her own phone sex hotline.I like to call this the “I really don’t hate you” moment. We have all been there, you meet a girl and you are not sure whether or not she is going to be a friend or foe. Sadly, we are trained from a young age to view all girls as competition. Although you may not want to compete, you will always automatically size them up. Once you determine whether or not their intentions are good or bad, you act accordingly. If you decide the woman is good in your book, you then make sure they know you like them. It is very important to do this as early on as possible, a potential friend can quickly turn into an unintentional foe. Whether it is a small gesture or verbally communicating, it has to be done.

After the characters start bonding and making money through their business together, one of the girls goes out and buys them both matching bags. I call this the “I like you enough to be associated with you in public, and maybe even be called besties” phase. You have heard the saying ‘imitation is the greatest form of flattery’, well in turn wanting/letting/enabling someone imitate you is also a form of flattery to the other party involved. This is really just level two of the “I really don’t hate you” moment, maybe it should then be called the “I really really don’t hate you” moment. You decide.

As business is booming, the characters decide they need to hire a third woman to operate the phone sex hotline. In real life, I would call this the “ Let’s make a decision together because we are just that tight” phase. Whether it be deciding on where to go on vacation or what event the two of you will attend next, it is always a great sign when you can make a mutual decision with a friend. You are both in it to win it and really enjoying each other so much so, you even value and honor the input of the other.

Side note: In the movie, the third woman they hire turns out to be a Christian radical who sabotages their business by making all the phone sex hotline callers repent for their sins. Needless to say, the two main characters are not happy about this when they discover the truth and the woman immediately becomes an enemy. Do not even get me started on when women unite over a common enemy. Very dangerous territory.

One more side note: In another scene in the movie, one of the characters reveals she is still a virgin (save this nugget of knowledge for later).

Moving on…

Next, one of the girls is compelled to say ‘I love you’ to her new best friend; the other girl in a moment of utter awkwardness gives her a hug, but does not say it back. I call this the “I love you’s are for boyfriends” moment. The good news? No they are not! You are welcome to love as many people of whatever sex as you would like. There are so many different types of love and so many levels of love. Of course you can love your friend! Go ahead, say it back!

Fast forward to the climax of the movie and both girls are at each other’s throats (if you want to know why, watch the movie). One of the characters finds the need to tell the other character’s parents about the phone sex business. The parents are obviously disappointed and the girl is absolutely mortified. The two characters exchange heated words, one of the lines was something along the lines of “I did not say ‘I love you‘ because I do not love you” and the other girl shot back with “you are just an insecure virgin”. This is what I like to call the “You will always be my best friend because you know too much…never mind, I have changed my mind so all of our secrets and vulnerabilities will be used as bullets” moment. In the case of friendship you should never use what someone shared with you in a moment of trust as ammunition to hurt them. Period. Woman typically do this as a form of protection, you have trusted a female enough to let them know the real you and now you are in battle mode and your sole thought is to destroy and conquer.

For the sake of a happy ending and comic relief  the two eventually make up, I love you’s are exchanged and they live happily ever after. This is not always the case in real life.

So I wrote this whole article to say…Women, we need to get it together!

We should love and support each other. It is okay to determine whether or not someone is ill willed in the beginning, but beyond that can’t we all just get along? Let’s leave the emotional roller coaster for Vivian Green.

Love,

Miss J

Have a question for the Love Jays?

[contact-form][contact-field label=’SUBMIT QUESTIONS ANONYMOUSLY BELOW:’ type=’textarea’/][/contact-form]

*By submitting your question to the love jays you grant them the right to publish your question and the answer  in all media.

© LoveJays 2012

Posted on

Budding Office Romance

Q: Dear Love Jays,

A few months ago I started working in a new office on the 7th floor of a 10 story office building (point being, it’s not a huge building).  My first day I took the walkway on the south side of the building; I looked up and saw two men in an office on the second floor – one guy must have been telling a hilarious story because he was in the doorway making extremely grand running motions with an awful face while the guy at the desk was laughing hysterically.  I couldn’t help myself so I pointed and laughed.  The ‘running-man’ (if you will) was mortified and the guy at the desk turned and gave me a huge thumbs up, and I also happened to find extremely attractive.  That was three months ago.  Two months ago I received my assigned parking spot on the north side of the building… I go way out of my way to walk by this cute guy’s office and every morning we exchange an enthusiastic wave and smile (almost always initiated by him).  I have an extremely outgoing personality and a healthy dose of confidence so I have no problem approaching guys… I have no idea what to do in this situation though!  Go full on Love Actually and write ‘Lunch?’ on a poster board?  Stop by the second floor on my way up to my office?  Or just let it be… I mean he could come out there too ya know???  I feel like I’m already going out of my way just to smile and wave at him… anything beyond that just feels wicked desperate.

Sincerely,
Not Desperate, Just Curious

A: Dear Full of Waves and Smiles,

The enthusiasm exuding from your fingers as you typed this question makes it very apparent on what you really want to do! I’m not the most visually creative person in this world, but I’m pretty sure you painted a perfect picture of what your morning, office routine consists of. Kudos!

You are a self-proclaimed big personality with a healthy dose of confidence, so why haven’t you made a funny, reckless attempt at casually inviting the guy to lunch? The two of you clearly met during a goofy moment and most likely have similar personalities, so in my eyes, the two of you have been waiting for the other to make the first move! I’m always in full support of just calling a man’s bluff. Walk into his office and say, “It’s been three months and we still haven’t had coffee? Help me understand.” Okay, that might be a little too aggressive, but you get the gist. Use your personality and confidence to your advantage!

If coffee turns into lunch, then lunch into dinner – you can thank me. If it goes wrong…at least you won’t have to walk out of your way any longer!

Sincerely,

Mr. J

A: Dear the Man in the Window,

I thoroughly enjoyed reading your story/question. Sounds like you have some eye candy to look forward to every morning. If that is not motivation to get out bed to go to work, I do not know what is!

You sound like a rational, outgoing and go getter type of girl. So I say go get it! This does not mean you have to go up there and full on ask him on a date, but you can definitely go up and introduce yourself. Find a way to bring up exchanging phone numbers or maybe even exchange your work email. You are both clearly mutually interested in greeting each other every morning, put the hook out there and see if he takes the bait! Good luck 🙂

Love,

Miss J

Have a question for the Love Jays?

[contact-form][contact-field label=’SUBMIT QUESTIONS ANONYMOUSLY BELOW:’ type=’textarea’/][/contact-form]

*By submitting your question to the love jays you grant them the right to publish your question and the answer  in all media.

© LoveJays 2012

Posted on

Getting to Know You

Q: Dear Love Jays,

There’s a guy I met at a party a couple of weeks and ended up talking to for a lot of the time. I don’t see him much, even though we’re in the same program (at a university) but we really hit it off and I’m now debating whether it’s something I should pursue. I really enjoyed being with him and we run into each other every now and then, but it’s only for a short while. I feel almost like I’d have to work really hard to see him and I just don’t know which route to take. I want to get to know him better but how? I feel like it may be too soon to ask him out just a simple coffee date or something since we don’t know each other that well.

A: Dear Miss Timid,

What is there to debate?

You met a young man who obviously caught your eye, the two of you really hit it off, both of you are in the same program at the same university and you really enjoy being with him?? Sounds like four really strong reasons to invite him on a little coffee date!

A simple coffee date is relatively harmless and coffee shops create a great environment for casual conversation. I understand it has only been a few weeks, but sitting around waiting for “the right time” to ask him to join you for coffee seems like a complete waste. I’m pretty confident most men are not concerned about any type of date being “too soon”, especially if it is the woman who is asking.

Next time you see him on campus engage him in small talk then extend the invite. As for getting to know him better, start with your similarities. What made you decide to study at this university? Why did you choose this program? Are you involved in any extracurricular activities on campus? What are some of your hobbies? These four questions alone should jump start the conversation and lead you down a pretty informal, informational conversation about each other.

Put your cute clothes on and do what women do best – attract men!

Sincerely,

Mr. J

A: Dear A Simple Coffee Date, 

I think a simple coffee/yogurt/smoothie date is an excellent idea! It’s not often we find people we genuinely click with. When you find someone you want to get to know better there is no such thing as “too soon” , but there is a such thing as wasting time. Don’t waste yours.

I don’t think it needs to be a “date” per-say, just try to keep it as simple as possible. Maybe one day after class mention you are going for coffee and ask if he wants to join, if he has somewhere to go say something to let him know the offer stands and you would like to go soon. Just give him enough to let him know your interested, but hold back enough to leave him wanting to get to know you more.

Leave the asking of the “big date” up to him. Best of Luck!

Love,

Miss J

Have a question for the Love Jays?

[contact-form][contact-field label=’SUBMIT QUESTIONS ANONYMOUSLY BELOW:’ type=’textarea’/][/contact-form]

*By submitting your question to the love jays you grant them the right to publish your question and the answer  in all media.

© LoveJays 2012