So you’ve met your special crush… and your heart sinks at the thought of them.  Take all the warm and fuzzy moments from every romantic comedy you’ve seen and it still doesn’t top the feeling you’re getting at this very moment.

But wait, there’s one small catch.  Your flame lives in another zip code… and not just another zip code, another state… or worse, another country!

I’ve seen it happen many times.  The initial chemistry when you meet someone you connect with for the first time can have your mind up in the clouds and your stomach doing somersaults.  It’s a wonderful feeling and it gets the monkey in your head to start throwing wrenches.  How far away?  What if?  How soon?  Why not!

Although living in the moment and grabbing life by the horns applies in majority of cases, I hate to be the one to clip those wings and bring you back down to reality.  Long distance is a tough, long, and dangerous road.

Heed my warning – buyer beware!

This day and age you have the ability to stay in touch via a multitude of methods, it still doesn’t replace the human interaction and the true test of chemistry of being one on one.  Virtual reality will never replace reality.

Even though video conferencing, phone calls, and Facebook updates can keep your interest growing, the fact is the little moments and interactions that are necessary to build a foundation of a relationship, are replaced by the picturesque ideas of what you want that other person to be, not necessarily what they are.  Soon you’ll find yourself when you do see that person, they don’t turn out to be exactly what you expected, or even worse, you crack the denial egg and ignore the red flags due to the effort you’ve put in and hold on to the idea that this person is meant for you.

While there are few rare cases where a long distance relationship can work out, the only ones that seem to keep the race going are those that started out with a good foundation of being with each other for an extended period of time before the physical rift.

Ultimately, if it’s a short introduction with the hormonal rage to butter up even the driest of toast, enjoy it for its moment and try the friend route.  Stay in touch and just get to know each other.  If the stars are as aligned as you think, when your paths cross again in the future, it could be everything you dreamed!