Absence...Does it Make the Heart Grow Fonder?

Does absence make the heart grow fonder? Or is the saying "out of sight, out of mind" more accurate?

Sometimes a self-imposed break is a good thing. While you are used to spending a lot of time with a guy, a trip or busy period at work forces you to spend some time apart. Hopefully with this, he will realize how boring life is without you and the nights at home or out on the town are just not quite as fun without you by his side. He'll quickly understand that his bed isn't as cozy and he'll miss the daily chats.

Unfortunately though, sometimes by not being there and being top of mind, you're risking that he'll forget you. Maybe you have only been together a short while so life just returns to normal as you step on the plane. Maybe there are other girls in his life that seem attractive now that you're not front and centre.

If things are meant to be and you have a strong connection, even if it's early on in the relationship, an absence can make things stronger between you.

I know that I should not have to force myself into someone's life or continually fight for his attention, so I will keep going on trips and spending time apart from whoever I'm dating. If this proves to be an "out of sight, out of mind" situation, then I obviously wasn't that important to him in the first place.

I'm an Excellent Driver

In the traditional sense, men have always been the drivers of relationships. Girls are taught that if a man likes you, he will approach you, ask for your number, call you and if he can't get hold of you, run to your house and camp outside until you answer the door. In the classics, men would spend days journeying to see the woman they loved, just to find her away from the house, or worse, already engaged to someone else.

Today, we still expect a man to drive the relationship forward. I speak all the time about how if a man likes you, he will ask you out, otherwise he's not that into you. It has recently been brought to my attention, however, that some men prefer to let the woman steer the relationship.

While I initially argued against this, the more I think about it, I have been the driver in many of my past relationships. I tend to date laid back guys, which I like, since I can be pretty high-strung at times. Also I'm a big-time planner, and have been since I was five years old, and I'm extremely organized. Not to mention I'm bossy. So naturally I end up steering things. That isn't to say the guys weren't interested, they just didn't pursue me in the same manner we're taught to expect.

That said, I still really appreciate a guy who will tell me he likes me. I'm fine with making some of the plans, but if you're interested, ensure you show me that you're interested. It doesn't hurt to plan a nice date, tell me I look pretty or invite me to join you at an important event. Sometimes by allowing the girl to drive, guys give off an air of not really caring how things turn out, which is unfortunate if they really are interested.

I am not a fan of dating games but there is a point where I will stop messaging you/suggesting we hang out/making plans, no matter how receptive you appear, just to force you to initiate something and therefore confirm whether you like me.

The Rule

The main lesson I learned from the book (and movie) He's Just Not That Into You is that girls should expect to be the rule, not the exception to the rule. When a guy doesn't call after your first date, it's unlikely that his phone was swallowed by a bear and more likely that he just wasn't feeling it. When a guy won't call you his girlfriend, he probably wants to keep dating other girls, even if he says he has long-seeded commitment issues or is going on a worldwide adventure in a month (does he actually have a ticket booked?). The rule generally applies, regardless of the stories a guy tells you or more likely, the stories you tell yourself.

I've been spending time with a guy I met through another friend. Before becoming closer with him I had been told that he dates regularly but never anything serious. For whatever reason (or excuse) he generally doesn't have girlfriends just dates people for a month or two and moves on. This didn't bother me in the least until we began spending more time together, and as usual, the dynamic changed slightly and I became more interested in him.

He messages me regularly and acts like a great friend and stand-up guy. We have a lot of fun when we are together and he has a lot of the qualities that I look for in a guy. But it dawned on me the other night, why would this be any different for him than any other girl he's spent time with? Why should I expect the outcome to differ from his last few relationships? Not to say I don't think I'm worth it, but history has to be some sort of indicator of the future.

I'm sure he's had other cute girls laughing hysterically at his jokes, girls who he enjoyed their company and invited to hang out often. Yet he didn't make the move to officially date them, become exclusive and have a mature relationship. So why would that change with me? Rather than spend time convincing myself that I'm the exception, I think I'll move on to a guy where the rule is what I want.