[PennyCarter]

A year is a long time, but it happens for everyone at their own pace--I have a friend who's been with her boyfriend over 2 years and they don't say it (though I think this is quite excessive). I admire his honesty...I would never want someone to say it because they felt obligated...now you'll know that when he does say it that it is sincere.

And the long distance makes it harder...my boyfriend and I have been in different cities for over a year (at one point we were 8 hours away for 4 months, but now its just an hour and a half), but it does change how you view things. I was afraid of saying I love you if it was really that I just missed him a lot...I had never told anyone I loved them before and I wanted to be absolutely positive. So that's another dynamic that makes things really hard!!