DEAR ABBY: I am 13 and my boyfriend just moved to Colorado. He won't be back home for three years, but I promised I'd wait for him. Now I feel like I'm being tied down. It's not that I don't want to be with him anymore, but I'm lonely with his being away. I don't want to break his heart, but I want some freedom. What should I do? -- MISSING HIM IN MASSACHUSETTS
DEAR MISSING HIM: Send him a sweet note and tell him that you're lonely without him and didn't know what to do -- so you wrote to me. Tell him I said that while you may love each other, it would be better for both of you to socialize while he is away. This is an important growth period for you both -- and if your relationship is meant to be permanent, you can resume it where you left off when he returns.