See how much he loves me! Ha ha this was from my last trip, and as you can tell he was a little sick of me taking pictures of him! This was the "smile" he gave me that I asked for.
But as our relationship grows, we have learned ways that make this whole complicated thing work!
1. Text like you are in middle school again! For obvious reasons, we cannot talk constantly on the phone. He has work, and I have classes so texting is a great way to keep in touch throughout the day. It's also a good way to keep getting to know each other. I have known Jake since I was 13 years old, but there are still things that I learn about him that I never knew before. It's also a plus getting cute texts throughout the day that always make me smile ;-)
2. Long conversations at night! I know that we have all had that 7 hour conversation back in middle school or high school with a boy we liked that just made you so giddy. When Jake gets off work, it is so nice to sit down and talk on the phone for an hour and talk about our days. Its a great way to talk about everything, with the added bonus of not having the distractions we would have if we were talking in person.
3. Skype! I would like to thank the creators of Skype, because as nice as cell phones are...it is awesome getting to actually see him every once in a while! Plus I get to see his doggies too, which is definitely a plus :-)
4. Communication skills! As you can see, long distance relationships are based off of communicating! When you don't see each other on a daily basis, your relationship has to revolve around trust and making sure you are talking to one-another. We have been at this for quite a few months now, and I can honestly say that our communication skills are pretty awesome.
5. The excitement before the visit! I just love booking my flight, and letting the countdown begin! I always put the countdowns in my planner for school so that every day I am reminded that I am one day closer! And nothing beats the feeling of when your plane touches down and you know that in moments you get to see the person you love! Talk about butterflies. I just can't wait until I'm counting down the days before I move there.
6. The added vacation, on top of spending quality time together! When I get to visit Jake, I also get to visit the awesome city he lives in. He technically lives in a nice town in Mississippi...but he is about 20 minutes away from Memphis- which is amazing! Downtown Memphis is a great vacation spot. Plus, during the cold months, Mississippi is a nice warm getaway from dreary Michigan.
It may not be much, but for me it is everything. Maybe not everyone can do it, but I think we are doing a pretty good job and I think that our relationship is becoming stronger because of it. It definitely has its pitfalls, but I know that we are going to be living in the same state someday and until then we will just keep making things work. For those of you who are forgoing the battle of a long distance relationship, hang in there! It is definitely not impossible, and if you love that person it is definitely worth it!
:-) I love you, Jake!