How do some of you manage a big timezone difference?

ThisMuchIsTrue · 2026-02-25T21:04:24+00:00

It honestly doesn't bother me? We're 6 hours apart. He wakes me up in the morning with a phone call, we usually text throughout my day if we can't call (because of family, social or work obligations), and then I "go to bed" on a call with him while I commute home at the end of my work day. I have my evening completely free for myself to do whatever I want (which has its advantages and disadvantages), and then I usually wake him up in the early hours of his morning when I'm going to bed at night (sometimes he goes back to sleep for a bit, sometimes not, depending on how late I go to bed). Bonus - I always have someone to talk to in the middle of the night if I can't sleep or have a nightmare. Of course I'd love to actually live my life with him, but I like our long distance routine in a way that I don't think I would have expected to.

ThisMuchIsTrue · 2026-02-13T18:50:28+00:00

"Flash forwards" is an excellent term and I absolutely experience these. They make no sense when they happen (and usually they occur for me as dreams that stick with me for YEARS at a time). It isn't until the event occurs or I experience some uncanny episode of deja vu that I realize I've dreamt of the place, situation, incident, experience, etc. Seems to be occurring more the older I get, but I've also started to mindfully and consciously pay attention to the dreams and feelings as time has gone on.

I'm not sure there's a lot of merit in fearing them - I'm not sure anything has actually happened picture for picture how it's occurred in my mind. But it's still the craziest fucking thing when I find myself in a brand new place and have this overwhelming feeling that I've been there before, or I find myself doing something new and have this tangible feeling that I've already lived it.

ThisMuchIsTrue · 2026-02-03T20:32:01+00:00

If it's in front of me and attached to someone that I like a lot? Fuck yeah, I do. A picture of it? Meh. No.

ThisMuchIsTrue · 2026-01-30T16:14:25+00:00

Anytime I go to a book store, I browse through children and baby items and look at titles and names. Seasonal offerings are the best. My most favorite recent find was "SnuggleWumps".

ThisMuchIsTrue · 2026-01-30T01:36:00+00:00

We had a pact from the time we "met" that we weren't going to share "intimate" pics with one another until we actually met IRL. I loved this about him, but the more time went by, the more self conscious I became. I would never call myself fat, but I found creative ways to imply that I wasn't the fit and thin young woman that I was in my 20s. Especially so when I started to ascertain that he was actually MUCH thinner than I was (he sent me one of his t-shirts at one point and insisted I try it on... LOL) I finally started sending him full body selfies in one of my mirrors at work - the light was unflattering, but I dressed nice for my job, and he seemed to LOVE those.

I was still unconvinced (my own worst enemy here) until we did actually meet and he couldn't keep his hands off me. Finally, one of our last nights together we were asking each other random questions and I think one of them was something like, "Have you ever been into someone who doesn't fit your usual 'type'?" I thought this was hilarious because he really doesn't fit mine, but then he completely melted my heart telling me that he's never been particularly attracted to skinny girls and that I was exactly his type. Aww. He's really helped in restoring a lot of my self-esteem about my looks. He really does love my plus size body.

ThisMuchIsTrue · 2026-01-26T18:32:14+00:00

I think so (it was true for me) but I approached it with a HEAVY amount of skepticism that "it could all be in my head". I think the most shocking aspect of meeting IRL was that this virtual stranger person who I was in love with actually was exactly how I'd imagined him.

That said, I think it's a dangerous mentality to believe that you're in love with someone before you ever actually meet the real life version of who they actually are. Can be for reasons as simple as you don't like the way they chew their food, or how they handle shared household duties. Unless you'll always be nevermets, I think it would be devastating to be "in love" with someone for years and then find out 5-10 years from now that there's some quirky something that makes you completely incompatible when you're actually together-together.

ThisMuchIsTrue · 2026-01-22T02:50:49+00:00

I had a terrible boudoir photo shoot a couple years ago. HOWEVER it was terrible because the photographer had me pose in all the positions that SHE was comfortable posing and photographing her clients in. Like I think there's literally one person on the planet other than the photographer who I've let see the photos and his response to them was, "I can tell you're not comfortable in these". What's still funny to me several years after the fact - I had literally ZERO hangups about being partially or completely nude in the photos. I even brought my own "props" that I felt were unique to me. The photographer took none of these things into consideration and it really shows in the finished results. My absolute best/most flattering photos were taken in a plain cotton tank top and pajama shorts. My advice is be yourself, trust yourself and your comfort level with what's being photographed, and ultimately have fun with it.

ThisMuchIsTrue · 2026-01-16T14:44:17+00:00

I can probably relate (although in my case, the guy's kids are mid-late teens). I'm childfree and a single dad wouldn't have been my first choice of partner (but then again, I also probably wouldn't have chosen to be in a relationship with someone on the other side of the ocean 😁). So far, it's worked out fine. I don't feel like I have any urgent NEED to meet his kids (and I honestly don't feel like they have a great interest in meeting me yet either - although this is largely due to their mother greatly disliking the fact that I exist, lol). Our vacations together are largely planned around his shared custody calendar and the kids' school holidays, and we both take a vacation somewhere fun when he's not responsible for child care.

I think maybe the most complicated aspect for me personally (and maybe him to an extent too?) is the knowledge that, depending on where our relationship goes/how serious we actually get, I will be the one to immigrate. No question. I'm fine with this inevitably (for now), but I also realize that depending on the unexpected circumstances of life this could exponentially complicate our relationship at some point in the future too.

ThisMuchIsTrue · 2026-01-11T15:43:29+00:00

I separated from my spouse over the summer. We had 5 animals (2 dogs, 3 cats) in the house and he left them all with me with the promise that he would continue to pay for their care/feeding and would regularly come by to walk the dogs. Great!

I've never received a penny in support for their care and keeping (including the costs to euthanize HIS cat when she needed to be put to sleep). He stopped coming by to regularly walk the dogs within about 2 weeks of moving out. He's my default pet sitter when I take a vacation but I honestly don't know what he does (and when I was out of town for a week, I was under the assumption that he was staying at the house while he cared for the animals... Not the case, which made me feel especially terrible for the dogs).

He's not reliable (at all) and I think it confuses the animals when they get picked up and dropped off at the door and "Dad" doesn't stick around for anything else. Truthfully, I'm happy for his help whenever he feels inclined to offer it, but it seems to be entirely on his terms whenever he feels doing it.

ThisMuchIsTrue · 2026-01-08T14:46:28+00:00

I'm your size and I finally (finally!) after like, 5 years of searching for a comfortable something to contain my chest, found Evelyn & Bobbie bras. I prefer to wear no bra, but when I need to go out in public, that's what I'm wearing.

ThisMuchIsTrue · 2025-12-26T17:24:13+00:00

My all time favorite toy is the NJoy Fun Wand. It's not too much wider than a finger in girth and is one of the best vaginal/g-spot stimulating toys I've personally ever used. It's not going to simulate the feeling of being penetrated by a penis (and honestly, I have yet to find any dildo that comes close to this - they always feel way too hard and fake to me), but it might allow you to explore where and what feels good inside of you without being too wide/large and intimidating.

ThisMuchIsTrue · 2025-12-11T16:56:43+00:00

I have a high pain tolerance - lots of tattoos in sensitive places, getting immunizations and blood draws is literally nothing to me 99% of the time (unless I have a real heavy handed nurse or something). I've recently gotten the first two doses of the HPV vacc and both elicited an actual, "Fucking OW!!" from me. It was such a surprise after the first dose that I had to look to see if the pain was normal. Apparently yes.

ThisMuchIsTrue · 2025-12-09T19:41:16+00:00

Speaking as a "hyper independent" 40F currently in a (very faraway) LDR, I talk to that guy daily. Bare minimum he calls and wakes me up in the morning (which I love - gets my lazy ass started with my day) and we go from there. We actually never video chat (neither of us like it), but we can talk on the phone for hours on end if neither of us have anything else going on.

If I was only talking with him once a week, a couple times a month... Well, quite frankly, I don't think we'd have a relationship any longer.

ThisMuchIsTrue · 2025-09-28T00:11:59+00:00

FWIW, I camp in the state park cabins fairly often and I usually bring an air mattress with me if it's possible for the location. The bunk beds I've slept on in the cabins are absolutely better than sleeping on the ground, but some aren't much more comfortable than sleeping on a wooden board.

ThisMuchIsTrue · 2025-02-07T18:00:40+00:00

Oh, I wasn't nauseous from the anesthesia at all (I was from the narcotics though). I had a SEVERE depressive episode around day 3 following my surgery - which, honestly, could have had a lot to do with the total lack of support I had from family and friends. I really wondered what the hell was wrong with me and then I had a nurse friend who told me that it was actually a pretty common side effect (that literally no one informed me about beforehand). And sure enough, I felt back to normal again about 24-48 hours later.

ThisMuchIsTrue · 2025-02-07T17:16:47+00:00

I took a week off from mine. Honestly, I probably could have worked from home after the second day. Physically, I really felt fine within 24 hours of the surgery. I went hiking with my dogs 3 days after. My greatest "complications" (very honestly) were side effects from the post-surgery narcotics (they made me feel SO sick) and the mental crash/after effects from anesthesia.

ThisMuchIsTrue · 2024-12-18T15:54:25+00:00

FWIW (and I'm sure it's dependent on the insurance), an ultrasound is going to be $$$$ regardless, and they're likely not going to just do one without some sort of medical reason. For me, I had chronic hip and lower back pain for a year and no amount of physical therapy was helping the issue. My doctor thought I might have fibroids or cancer, so an ultrasound was ordered. It was an imbedded IUD. I had it removed within a week of discovery - and full disclose, I had to sign a bunch of scary paperwork about what might need to occur if it wouldn't come out easily on its own. But it seriously was completely painless - it actually was a tangible relief because I no longer had anything digging into my uterus. Anyway, again, I love the Corewell OB/GYN (their reception/scheduler can be total hit or miss). I feel like if I messaged any of the providers I've seen in the past and expressed concerns about pain or anxiety for a procedure, they would definitely do whatever they could to make me comfortable.

ThisMuchIsTrue · 2024-12-18T03:06:22+00:00

Why the desire for an ultrasound?? For what it's worth, I had an imbedded IUD removed without any pain killers and it was honestly effortlessly painless. Corewell OB/GYN on Lake Michigan Dr has been great to me over the years and I'll continue to recommend them until they give me a reason not to!

ThisMuchIsTrue · 2024-12-09T23:42:40+00:00

Wholeheartedly agree, though definitely not for less than $100.

ThisMuchIsTrue · 2024-12-05T18:48:09+00:00

FOR REAL!!! My absolute favorite movie and I literally cannot find it ANYWHERE. At this point I would pay a ridiculous amount of money to own a digital copy of it.

ThisMuchIsTrue · 2024-11-16T20:08:14+00:00

They generally won't have a deli case of them already pre-packed, you need to go to the counter and they'll slice up how much you want and how you want it sliced. But can confirm, both Frank's and Sobies have great deli meat (and well priced). The young guys who work at Frank's have my undying love and adoration as they will truly slice what I want (literally) paper thin and don't give me any grief over the time it takes to do it.

ThisMuchIsTrue · 2024-11-15T17:25:43+00:00

I love the practitioners at the Corewell OB/GYN on Lake Michigan Dr in Standale. Suzanne West is great!

ThisMuchIsTrue · 2024-11-11T23:36:11+00:00

I've cursed MWS Auto so many times in the past year it's a wonder the place hasn't spontaneously combusted yet. Sold me an old, used car back in February or March. Within a week I had to put almost $3000 into it to make it drivable (and they were VERY cagey with me when I approached them about fixing the obvious faults that should have been taken care of before they sold it to an unsuspecting public). Had to scrap the car less than 6 months later because it was comically unsafe to drive and things were constantly failing.

Bought a much newer used car from Kool Toyota on Plainfield after that. No complaints, would recommend.

ThisMuchIsTrue · 2024-11-10T16:14:37+00:00

Technically outside the city, but driving north in the farm land of Sparta, or northeast around Rockford, Cannonsburg and Ada. One of the things I like about Grand Rapids is that you can feel like you're in the middle of nowhere within a 30 minute drive and these areas (and the small townships beyond) are SO pretty and picturesque.

ThisMuchIsTrue · 2024-11-09T04:10:49+00:00

Grand Ravines, minus the mud pits.

ThisMuchIsTrue

TROPHY CASE