During our conversation, I was reminded of this quote by the poet Rainer Maria Rilke: ‘Once the realization is accepted that even between the closest human beings infinite distances continue to exist, a wonderful living side by side can grow up, if they succeed in loving the distance between them which makes it possible for each to see the other whole and against a wide sky.’ Like Rilke, Susan helped me to understand that distance in a relationship is not a threat; it is a door to a more rewarding connection.