Long distance is hard for every relationship, and it is something couples never want to do; however, in certain circumstances it is inevitable. That was the case for my boyfriend and me over this past summer. I am glad to say that we made it work, and I am excited to share some tips and ideas that worked for us.
- Just Be Patient
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The first tip I have is to just be patient, and this is something that was difficult for me. I am the type of person who wants things to happen right when I think of them, so the second I thought of a cute date idea, I wanted to do it, but I couldn’t because we were three hours away from each other, with him having a full-time job so I would just get upset. If I wanted to see him again, I just had to wait and wait, and as an impatient person, it gets difficult.
As the summer went on, I taught myself that it is okay to have to be patient, and things will be worth it in the end. Even if I had some cute ideas for dates, I knew that if I waited, it would make those moments that much more memorable.
- Communicate
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Communication is key. Nothing ever gets resolved if couples do not communicate. FaceTiming, calling and texting are all important to keep up with during long-distance. However, to me, you don’t have to be in constant communication with each other because, in some cases, that is unhealthy for couples.
Talk about how each other’s days have been; check in with each other on how the other is feeling emotionally and mentally. Every couple argues, and that is okay; sometimes it is more often when you are long-distance, but that is when healthy communication is needed.
- Look Forward To The Time You Have Together
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The best part about long distance is the time when you get to be with your significant other again. I know that was the case for my boyfriend and me. We got to see each other four times during the three-month span, which is pretty good considering there was a point early in the summer when we were told we were not going to be able to see each other.
I went up to where he is from and explored his town that he grew up in twice, once in the beginning and one other time near the end. Then, in the middle of the summer, two weeks apart, he came to the town I grew up in and got to explore it as well.
We made so many memories in just those couple of days that we saw each other, and each time we saw each other made looking forward to the next time we would see each other that much more exciting. As I said before, the wait is worth it, especially during the hard times.
- Have Cute Date Nights Over The Phone
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Quality time is important whether you are together in person or over the phone. My boyfriend and I would choose a certain night during the week, and that would be considered our “date night”; those ended up being my favorite nights and memories.
These date night ideas could be watching a movie or a TV show, listening to music, playing iMessage games, scrolling TikTok or Instagram Reels, watching YouTube, ordering each other DoorDash, and having a FaceTime dinner date. All of these are good ideas and would lead to a lot of late nights just talking and having fun making memories, even miles and miles apart.
I am so happy to say that since school is back in session, my boyfriend and I are back to being just 10 minutes away from each other, and I can say that making long-distance work is so worth it in the end. Yes, it is hard, but there are so many ways to get through it. I will forever be grateful for transportation, FaceTime and iMessage because without these things, making long-distance work would be so much more difficult.