Surviving Long Distance Relationships

My husband and I have almost been in a long distance  relationship since the beginning. We started dating my senior year of high school, and a few months later, the army called and we have been making a long distance relationship work since. We have learned so many little tricks to make the time apart bearable, so I wanted to share them with you. Some advice for those dealing with this: Don’t give up. It will get easier as time passes and it makes the time you are together even more special.

Facetime, Facetime, Facetime!

Facetiming is an obvious one, but it is so important. The world has come so far in technology. When my parents were my age and dating, my father was in the Navy and the only source of communication they had was through letter writing and the occasional phone call. We often watch movies or our favorite TV series together by getting on Netflix or Hulu at the same time and pressing play at the same time. We sometimes cook and have Facetime dinner dates. You cannot let your dates end when you are apart. It is a perfect way to bond and get to know each other better.

It takes both sides for it to work.

The responsibility of the relationship working isn’t just on one person. You both have to make an effort for it to work. It does take a lot of work, but if you love the person it is worth it. We have both had to miss out on a lot of parties, getting together with friends, etc to be able to make the relationship work the way we want. However, we not change it for the world. Both people need to want to make it work.


You need to have trust.

Being away from each other requires a lot of trust. If not, you will be constantly worried about what your partner is doing behind your back, and that will make your relationship toxic. Whenever you have a concern, bring it up with your partner. If I didn’t trust my husband, or he didn’t me, it would not work at all.


Break up the time apart.

I know, its hard but plan to be with your significant other during holidays and long weekends. Breaking the time makes things easier, however be cautious because it might bring back a lot of the same emotions when the have to leave again. It makes it easier if you plan out your next visit while they are still with you, because then you have something to look forward to even when they leave.

Keep yourself busy.

Whether it be with work or school, time will go faster when you keep yourself busy. Right now, school is keeping me busy and distracting me from the thoughts of being away from my husband. If you keep busy, time will fly and you will be back in your SO’s arms again before you know it.

Don’t expect others to get it.

Trust me, I have no sympathy for those complaining about not seeing their SO for a day or week. However, many people don’t get it. They haven’t been in the same boat as you before so how could they possibly understand. If its constant, just talk to them about how you feel. Maybe they will be a little more understanding and do it around you as much. Oh and if you’re reading this, don’t complain about being away from your partner for a few days when your with a friend that has a SO in the military or far away. There will be no sympathy and you might piss them off.


Know it is not forever.

What is really getting me through my senior year of college? Knowing that it’s almost time to live with my husband forever. Long distance relationships are really really hard, but soon the time will come where both of your lives will be able to conform into one, and it will be the best feeling ever. I am counting down the days till graduation, because that is when our lives are going to collide again. So don’t give up. You got this. You aren’t in this boat alone. There are so many people doing the same thing you are, and they make it work!

Here is my favorite song about long distance relationships. Also the video makes me cry, so there’s that!

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