On Long Distance Relationships
I try to get out, but they keep pulling me back in.
I’m on the road until September. That’ll be 6 months total, following a week spent visiting a significant someone in NYC.
I met this man in 2008 or 2009 when he was a regular student at a yoga class I taught at a Williamsburg gym both before and, for a short time, after I opened Goodyoga.
I was in a serious-from-the-start relationship with my eventual ex-husband from New Year’s Eve 2008. I’m all business when I’m teaching, regardless, so there was no chemistry at that time…well, on my end. He has since expressed that he had a crush, but, charmingly, found me unattainable. I certainly don’t perceive myself this way, so it’s always a surprise when crushes reveal themselves.
Our paths crossed at McCarren Park about 8 years later, in 2017, 2 weeks following my violent separation from my ex and 8 months following his. With the wide eyed wonder I now recognize as a familiar phase of the separation process, he conveyed his availability, though I did not. I was a fragile fucking wreck.
In 2019 he messaged me on Hinge. I had recently returned to the apps after the finalization of my divorce, and a hiatus following two sexual assaults in 2018. His message was longer than most and shockingly sincere. I responded via Instagram, emphasizing my caution when relating to former students, and suggesting a friendly coffee rather than a date.