DR. WALLACE: I'm 20 and just found out I'm pregnant. My boyfriend and I have been sexually active for two years of college now and we have always used protection. That seemed to work well for a long time, but it failed me now in a big way.

I don't really have a question for you, but I thought I'd write in to tell others that even using protection every single time provides no guarantee that an unexpected pregnancy may crop up.

Luckily, in my case we are both on the same page and we are already talking about getting married this fall or winter, since we had been planning to get married in two more years after college anyhow. — More Than Surprised, via email

MORE THAN SURPRISED: I'm happy to print your letter because you articulated your message so well. Indeed, there are very few guarantees in life, and your experience demonstrates that.

Good luck with your wedding plans, and may the two of you enjoy becoming parents in the near future. Your message has now been duly delivered to all who take the time to view our columns.

THINGS HAVE CHANGED A BIT

DR. WALLACE: I lived together with my boyfriend during the entire recent pandemic. We were very close back then. But now he's somewhat more distant and doesn't talk and act like he did back then when it was just the two of us against the world.

I've brought this up to him numerous times, but he just shrugs my comments off by saying, "That was then, this is now." Should I stay with him and hope he gets closer to me again, or is he giving me a sign that our best days are now behind us? — I Liked the Relationship Better Back Then, via email

I LIKED THE RELATIONSHIP BETTER BACK THEN: Your letter is quite interesting and perhaps quite revealing. I, of course, do not know either of you personally and don't know enough good or poor elements about your current relationship, so it's hard to advise you on just the one comment of his you've related here.

However, relationships are meant to evolve and grow stronger over time. You apparently feel that things have regressed in that department. and he perhaps feels that you two don't need to spend 16 waking hours together every day anymore, and he has a point. The world's changed again and just about all of us are out and about much more than we were a few years ago.

I suspect that your answer lies in between both of the viewpoints you've mentioned, so do your best to communicate with him on a variety of topics regularly so that you can monitor your levels of intimacy and your relationship's overall strength.

There might be other factors that will reveal themselves in time to help you both, but always remember open communication is the best path toward building and maintaining a strong relationship.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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