10 Surprising Benefits of a Long Distance Relationship
Distance can be difficult. It can also be a chance to develop a romance where the other knows you better than anyone else in the world, local or otherwise.
If both of you want this then you can have it! Here are some things you will learn and some things you can do to help you to pass the time and to weave something powerful together step by step as you 'go the distance'.
1. Learn Patience together
This one goes without saying. He or she is the one for you but distance and circumstance seperate you. You MUST learn patience. We will help you with some ideas to fill the time and you can make some of your own.
2. Learn to trust together
This goes almost without saying but so many take it for granted. There are ways to limit the more dangerous communications that may be helpful to you. Keep Reading.
3. Best of both worlds - Victorian love with a digital twist
Share daily emails if you like but keep the heavy details(stories of your past, personal habits, political views, and such) for letters.
That's right. You put a stamp on them and they take days to arrive. Those things. They have a charm that is unsurpassed and are something you can keep forever. For added fun, write formally in the first portions of each letter.
"Dear Mister/Miss..."
Sign the same way, but with a salutation and an initial.
Patiently Yours,
Miss J.
Pick one that suits you, it doesn't have to be mushy and sometimes it's fun to match the mood. Imagine you are cooking a soup of words and make the letters taste like you.
4. Surrender inhibitions together in a Skype drinking game.
Each can speak freely and what is said isn't discussed again until you are together. Mail each other a morning hangover pic by slow mail as a way to remind each other you've each shown your personal weaknesses.
5. Honest apology needed
Show you are sorry with some vulnerability. Pick a place out of town or alone in the house and send an 'I'm sorry' song. If that's too much, at least make a video and whoever is apologizing should say what they are sorry for. It's hard but that kind of vulnerability can show you are genuinely sorry when email-apologies are too hollow and generic.
6. Let them know they are important on their birthday
You know how long it takes a letter to get there now. Write one a day for 7 days. The last one will get there on Monday but it's a nice touch. These can be brief, they don't have to fit the 'Victorian you'.
7. Share a scavenger hunt
Rub a piece of paper with a cotton ball soaked in lemon juice. Write on it when it dries and hold it over the stove a few seconds. Voilla! A 'parchment' map for a scavenger hunt for small items. Use google earth to find local places like parks or candy stores. Send a map to each other and be sure to text each other while hunting. Mail the items at the end for souvenirs of the shared time.
8. Slowly Share Confessions
Send one confession every 2 months, not to be
spoken of until you are physically together. It can be frustrations in life or stories about an ex. Confessions may only be discussed when you are physically together unless mutually agreed or this won't help you.
9. A Taste of your Homes
Send a small assortment of local candies every month. Candy stores are optimal so you aren't mailing a lot of full-sized candy bars.
10. Puzzle play
Write a letter, print it up on a sticker at your local print shop, and put it on some cardboard. Cut it out into puzzle pieces and mail them in 1/4 batches. Make sure there are one or two pictures on the letter so that it is pleasing to look at and more fun.
We will close with a quote which you should both memorize.
"I can never again look at a castle without thinking of you. Wondering what would have happened had we built the walls around us, instead of between us."--anonymous
Let distance be a foundation that brings you closer in trust, patience, and a genuine desire to share time together. This is a list of little things and love is ALL about the little things. So use our list and make your own, lovers. You can go the distance!
