My boyfriend wants to take a break and I don't know how to handle it. But first I'll give some background information on our relationship:

We've been dating for almost 7 months exactly. He is 10 years older than myself (I am 20 and he is 30). He lives in Washington, DC and I live in Chicago so we're about 12 hours apart. I am in college so we don't get to see each other often due to my busy schedule. We talk on the phone daily without fail for long periods. A daily 3 hour conversation is SHORT for us. Time flies when we talk.

Recently we have been fighting a lot. An example of typical fight is if we don't get enough time to talk for a few days I get upset because our schedules are different and I feel like he isn't making enough of an effort to talk to me and goes to bed early. He thinks this is selfish and has given me a list of things to change and I have to him. We have gotten into the same fight over and over again and claim we are going to do better and fix things but we just end up in this upswing of a few super happy/lovey days and end up not changing anything.

We had another one of these fights yesterday and he said he needs space. We have never taken a break or gone more than a day without talking to each other. We got into an argument yesterday and ended up having a civil, productive conversation about our issues but still had anger and tension between us. We (mostly he) decided we still want a break (a few days to a week) to hopefully flush out some of the anger and tension. We feel that his residual tension/anger is what causes us to continuously bicker and then get into larger, unnecessary fights.

The issue I have is today he texted (he NEVER texts and has maybe texted me a total of 5-10 times in our 7 months of dating) and said "Hope you have a perfect day i love you". This was very sweet but I don't understand it. He said he wanted a break and needed space from me but then texts me which he never does in a normal circumstance. I don't know how to handle taking a break or what it really means in this context. It is very difficult for me not to share my daily life with him and I am thrown off by the text. Does he want me to respect his space or prove how much I love him and call because I can't bare not talking to him? I am also worried that he is going to come back from this break and realize he is happier without me and break up with me. Help!

Help? He tells you what is bothering him and you continued the same behaviors. You need to put yourself in his shoes. He is probably the type of person who likes living drama free. There are a lot of people out there like us. I mean really - he is getting yelled at for going to bed early? Save the big fights for something meaningful.

Long distance relationships are difficult enough without added drama. You have put him in the position that he is weighing the drama versus staying in a relationship with you. Unfortunately you may not come out on top.

Stop getting upset when your schedules have conflicts, and you can't talk as much. He can't control that, neither can you. Probably why he texted. He is trying to be positive without the bickering because of the distance. Its hard enough with a new relationship, and you can't be together in person.

Don't let the stress get you. Texting may be the adjustment to make for now. Try it. A positive response may go a long ways where arguing cannot. Just temper your feelings when responses are not instant. I mean who sits and waits on a person who you know is busy?

Don't be impatient, changes and adjustments usually take time, work, and a lot of understanding. So why take your frustrations out on a partner, far away, who can do nothing?

I'm okay with texting but he never has been so I am confused why he texted me. If he wanted space and time away from me why did he contact me in a way he never does and not just cut contact completely?

Maybe he wanted to say something nice without getting into a fight/drama. Me thinks he is giving you signs that you might be missing. Lose the drama.

What do you mean signs?

Signs like he wants to communicate with you, he wants to say something nice to you, but he doesn't want to argue with you.

If you care about someone enough and you want something to change then you will find a way to get there that doesn't include drama.