By the time 2007 rolled around, Sean and I had been together for six years. We started dating when I was seventeen years old, and had gone through a lot of ups and downs together. We had just moved back to the NYC area from Buffalo, where we had been living the two years. Times were tough; we were both in a lot of debt and struggling to find jobs in a rapidly deteriorating market. We were also living in a small bedroom in my mom's house with all of our belongings and our two cats. It was cramped and we were constantly in each other's face. There was no personal time, and we found ourselves fighting nonstop. We ended up reaching the breaking point (no pun intended) by May.
It was a nasty separation - I felt like I had gone through a divorce - and I was convinced we would never see each other again. I did everything I could to get my mind off of it. I went out a LOT, redecorated my room, started apartment hunting, found a job and threw myself into work, caught up with old friends, joined a few dating sites and met a few new people. But, by July, Sean and I were talking on a daily basis. We had both missed each other terribly...we realized we weren't just a couple, we were best friends. So, we thought we could make it work AS friends.
So, so naive...
I did my best to ignore my jealousy as he dated other women, and he did the same as I dated other guys. By August, we were hooking up again. We didn't want to officially be back together, but we just couldn't stay away from each other. We had these long, drawn-out talks about how we had never really given ourselves the chance to grow-up and become the people we were supposed to be. We talked about all the little issues we had had in our relationship, and for the first time ever, we were completely honest. It was...amazing, actually. But we were unsure if we wanted to make such a large commitment again. It was a lot to risk, and I think we were more than a little scared.
By September, however, we realized we wanted to be together. We talked about it and set some ground rules....for example, always being honest about what's bothering us and making sure to have "me" time once in a while within all that "we" time. We have steadily been together for the last three years now, and in April of this year, Sean proposed. We are getting married in October 2012, and are unbelievably happy. We worked through so many of our issues, and I know I have a partner that I can trust. It was definitely worth giving love a second chance...