The break

Having to take a break on the whole living-in-Denmark-thing got me thinking about breaks. How long can a break last before it's forgotten in time and just ends up being a plain stop?

You can take a break in your relationship, a full break where you go out and meet others. But for how long can this break last before it's just a break-up. Since both things are considered break-ups, many people might be indifferent to the distinction between those two. I might be an old romantic at this point (or just desperately clinging to the past, your call), but I believe in break-break-ups, which is a break-up with the possibility of relationship resumption. I'm just not sure how long this "right to withdraw the break-up" is valid. Couple of months? A year? Two, three, five, ten?

My granddad took a smoking break when he and my grandmother got kids. That break lasted for more than 40 years, and I'm quite sure it's no longer a break but just a plain stop. If he ever starts smoking again, it would be rather unexpected.

I'm going to Costa Rica in a year, which means I have to take some breaks. With friends, family, places, language. In the break I'm replacing those with new friends, 'family', places and a new language. When the break is over, I'll go back to my old habits, but it'll have changed, because I have. And because now I need room for the new experiences and friends. Shouldn't be a problem. But along the way, some of the breaks will probably turn into stops. Most likely without me wanting to, maybe even knowing about it. They might just fade.

I hope they don't.