On Feb. 14, my boyfriend and I were 4,697 miles apart. To make matters worse, this was our first Valentine’s Day as a couple, and there is a seven-hour time difference between us. Those are lots of obstacles going against us, but we have decided not to let any of them dampen this sweet moment and accomplishment as a couple.
Due to our conflicting schedules, we have decided to celebrate the day on the Saturday after Valentine’s Day instead of the actual day. This was a decision we came to because we didn’t want the requirements of classes and meetings to dull our time together; we want this day to be filled with the absolute most time together. Our first order of business — Minecraft.
I highly recommend having a Minecraft world together if you and your partner are long-distance and like video games. Having a place where the two of you can hang out, work together, build things together, and just spend time doing something together, no matter the distance, is so incredibly important, especially during times like Valentine’s Day. So, it goes without saying that we plan to spend lots of time in our Minecraft world.
Another central part of the holiday is dinner, but you can’t exactly go out to dinner together when you’re 4,000 miles apart. But our seven-hour time difference comes in handy for once. My lunch lands perfectly during his dinner, so there is a way for us to share at least one meal together. And what better way to do so than to make the exact same meal to share with one another? I think this idea is so cute, and I have to give all the credit to my boyfriend because he is the one who came up with it. Another way to do this would be ordering the same takeout or choosing the meal for your partner, just any way for you to be able to sit down and share a meal together. It is such an intimate thing to sit down and debrief about your day or week with someone over something as mundane as food, a bodily necessity, that makes things like dinner dates, even over FaceTime, so special.
There is much heartbreak that comes when celebrating a holiday far away from your partner, especially one like Valentine’s Day. It can be a very depressing and trying time, not just for you mentally but also for your relationship. I cannot express the importance of still making the days special in any way possible. Long-distance relationships have had a bad reputation for not working because the people in them didn’t understand that even if you can’t be with your girlfriend, boyfriend, or partner in person, you still should do the things you’d do if you were with them in person. Plan date nights, have movie dates, debrief after a long day together, and make holidays special.
I am so lucky to have a boyfriend who still tries to make me happy even from 4,000+ miles away. Like I said earlier, much of our Valentine’s Day plans were his idea. He sent me multiple gifts and wants to do whatever else he needs to for this day, our first Valentine’s Day as a couple, to mean something. His not letting the distance get in the way of our relationship or in the way of our special days makes me feel so secure and makes me believe even more that our relationship will definitely withstand the miles between us.
Valentine’s Day is a day about love, which is one of the most beautiful things about humans. I have always loved love, even when I was a little girl. There is so much about love that fills me with great joy. I didn’t plan to find love in someone who lives across an ocean from me, but I did, and although it’s hard, I wouldn’t change it for the world. I don’t mind having to do things the ‘hard’ way for my boyfriend, and I know he feels the same way about me. So, while we couldn’t spend Valentine’s Day together like we would’ve wanted to, our day will still be special, filled with love, filled with care, and filled with memories that one day we can look back on and remind ourselves that we have always loved each other so very much.