Hello Hath No Fury

Though my boyfriend is loving and attentive, he's bad at responding to my texts. He's especially bad while traveling, which he does often for his work. Granted, half my texts are silly memes. I know these things aren't important, so why do I feel so hurt when he doesn't reply?

--Waiting

You'd just like your boyfriend to be more responsive than a gigantic hole. (Yell into the Grand Canyon and you'll get a reply. And it isn't even having sex with you.) What's getting lost here is the purpose of the GIF of parakeets re-enacting the Ali/Frazier fight or the cat flying through space on the burrito. Consider that, in the chase phase, some men text like crazy, hoping to banter a woman into bed. But once there's a relationship, men (disproportionately) use texting as a logistical tool -- "b there in 5" -- while women continue using it as a tool for emotional connection. That's probably why you feel so bad. Feeling ignored is also not ideal for a relationship. In research psychologist John Gottman did on newly married couples, the newlyweds who were still together six years down the line were those who were responsive toward their partner's "bids for connection" -- consistently meeting them with love, encouragement, support, or just attention. Explain this "bids for connection" thing to your boyfriend. (That mongoose in a dress is just meme-ese for "Yoo-hoo! You still there?") However, especially when he's traveling, a little reasonableness from you in what counts as a reply should go a long way. Maybe tell him you'd be happy with "Ha!", "LOL," or an emoji. You'd just like to see more than your own blinking cursor -- looking like Morse code for "If he loved you, he'd at least text you that smiling swirl of poo."