Paul just left the house to go to Arizona for a few days for a medical conference. I’m sad and lonely already.

Some couples require time apart from each other. I don’t see any problems with that, particularly not if it’s time alone. However, Paul and I could happily spend the next hundred years in mutual company. I wonder if that’s possible in substantial part because we spend so much time together in parallel play. For example, we’ll each listen to our own lectures while running outside, e-mail or surf on our own laptops while watching television, read our own books in bed, and so on.

On its face, it’s a bit strange that an activity is more fun when done in parallel rather than alone. Part of the enjoyment is the occasional interactions: we send links to interesting articles, forward good e-mail, discuss some noteworthy passage in the book, and more — then return to our own activity. Even when the interaction is minimal during the activity itself, like when exercising, it’s still lovely to be doing something together. And even then, we do talk a great deal both before and after the primary activity, including about the activity itself.

So that’s why I’m sad and lonely already.