It was 32 degrees in Crete, and the sun was just beginning to set, which made everything look soft and lilac-coloured. I kicked my legs underwater, ocean salt clinging to my skin and hair. This is the life, I thought, without irony. It was one of those moments when you forget about everything—emails, Slack, invoices—and feel really rooted in your body. And it felt good to be alone—not just for a moment, but properly alone, for hours on end.
Even so, spending extended periods of time away from a partner still isn’t considered the norm, as if you cease to be an independent entity as soon as you commit to someone. I’ve known people to turn down jobs that would require them to travel a lot because they were concerned it meant they weren’t fully devoted to their partner. Just the other day, I told a friend I wanted to travel around Italy by train.