There is a rule in the hiking world: If you invite someone on a hike with you and they are slower than you — perhaps even much slower — you slow down and go at their pace, even if you want to go faster. I think that rule applies to relationships, too. If someone cares about another person but the other person needs more time, then care dictates that they should slow down and wait.

I don’t think timelines ever align, and that’s okay. But we have to go at the pace of the slowest person in the relationship.