The Long Distance of the Heart

Dear Delyara, My 'Grind' was a marriage that had become a long-distance relationship even though we lived in the same house. He worked nights, I worked days. We were passing ships in a 'Storm' of bills and child-rearing. We realized we hadn't had a real conversation in two years. The 'Shadow' was the temptation to find connection somewhere else. We reached the 'Crossroads' when we saw how our distance was affecting our kids' view of love. We had to make a radical choice: he took a lower-paying job with day shifts, and we cut our lifestyle in half. Our Victoria is the simple Tuesday nights we spend together now. We are poorer, but the 'Grind' no longer owns our hearts. The victory is choosing each other over the 'Standard of Living.