Sitting here in a remote village in India, some 3000kms away from my husband in the UAE, love has never felt so good in our decades of relationship. When I see him, when we are together, we laugh, giggle, tease, and of course love as we did in our teenage times. How do we maintain our long-distance relationship so easily?!
We were no strangers to a long-distance relationship. From the time we started our relationship, we hardly got chances to meet, spend time together, and enjoy ourselves. We rarely met until we got married. Even now, after 6+ years of married life, we haven’t been together for 365 days altogether and are living in different parts of the world. The interesting part is we haven’t met once for the last 3 years. Spending most of our time apart, we maintain a strong relationship.
Yes. Those who told me that we would have divorced if we were together are absolutely wrong. And I am not alone. A lot of couples maintain healthy long-distance relationships, I know. For those who are finding it hard to keep a healthy long-distance relationship, these tips will definitely help you.
Communicate & Feel Connected
We are living in a time with unparalleled round-the-clock access to anything and anyone is possible. Advancements in the technology world make it easy to connect with your loved ones. Feel connected every time you need and desire to. Discuss your time preferences, mode of communication, and everything that works best for you. Delve into the details and make your partner feel they are with you even though they are not. Be ready to modify your communication routines when life throws unexpected demands at you.
Give Space & Maintain your Freedom
You might feel an incompleteness or a part of you missing, but don’t run away from our routines. You are still your own person. Keep engaged in anything that makes you happy to help relieve lonely feelings. Stay independent and make your partner know that you are understandable and self-reliant to do things alone. This will definitely make them feel reassured and proud of you. While maintaining strong communication through frequent connectivity, make sure you are not addicted to the gadgets longing for calls and chats. This will lead to sadness and depression when your partner is busy with work or some other engagements. Always devote some time to your friends & family or other exciting things you want to do in life.
Be There Even When You Can’t Be There
Relationship experts say that a successful relationship happens when you respond to your partner’s emotional calls. Be there for them even though you cannot be physically there with them. When they need emotional support, be there for them and make them feel that you will be with them forever. You don’t need to wait for the question “Will you be there for me?”. Beforehand, assure them that no matter how far apart you are, you are there for them.
Stay Honest with Each Other
Staying honest with each other is one important thing you need to keep in a long-distance relationship. Without trust, you may not be able to run a smooth relationship. Talk about your feelings, physical and emotional issues, fear, happy things, insecurity, secrets, achievements, and whatsoever. Keeping secrets and hiding anything that can affect your relationship will swallow you up. Be open to your partner and let them help support you in all your crises. Keep each other updated about things that are happening in and out.
Know Each Other’s Schedules
It is better to know your schedules so that you can drop a text or make a call at the right time. Let’s not disturb the other person when he/she is halfway through a meeting or busy doing something. Knowing even the small events that take place in each other’s lives, especially when you both are living in different time zones, can help you keep a smooth relationship, giving importance to their time and activities.
Keep Your Memories Alive
Memories are like wine; they become sweeter with time. Share the memories of the times you were together, the fun you had, the pranks you did, the movies you watched, the gossip you shared. It’s really loving to recollect all your good times and memories together. Let it be your first dating, first movie after marriage, or even first-time sex, or anything you cherish and value for long; share it with your partner and let them know your golden moments are treasured in your mind forever.
Encourage them to Enjoy
This one step would be missed by most couples. Always help your partner to live their life to the fullest. Encourage them to do whatever they like, make them happy and want to do in life. Keep your possessiveness away and find happiness in their joy.
Make Plans
Making plans is one of the major steps you must not miss while maintaining a long-distance relationship. Make solid plans on when you will see each other next, your next trip, dream purchase, etc. It is always good to have something to look forward to when you are in a long-distance relationship.
Share Cute & Funny Memes
In this technologically advanced world, you can share anything that is virtually possible. Sharing Gif or funny and cute memes are some of the best ways that lighten a situation. Share some laughs with your partner and express your love and caring in a naughty way. The fun part is that you can keep a lighter and joyful relationship even in the most annoyed or frustrating moments.
Snap Your Pics
Experts say that it is okay to send your naughty pics with your partner when it comes to long-distance relationships. Anyway, it is your choice, but sending some of your snaps without showing too much skin will be your best bet. Trust me, it works well because I send my funny faces, grey hairs, makeup and new dress trial shots, and other friends & family time snaps to my better half and he enjoys them a lot with me. Let him/her not miss you too much.
Voice Recordings
This one is a biggie nowadays. It applies to any relationship. As it is very easy to misinterpret a text chat, voice recordings can help you express your true self, your emotions and whatever feelings. Whether you are stuck in a meeting or in a situation where frequent chatting is not possible but want to blow off your partner for some time, send a voice message and let them understand the sitch.
Stay positive
To keep your long-distance relationship alive, you need to stay positive. Yes, the wait is painful and most of the time you may feel lonely but you need to remind yourself that all things will end sweeter and you will soon make a life together. To stay positive, be thankful that you have got the best person to love and love you back.
Set A Meet Date
While a long-distance relationship is okay for some time, eventually you may want to be in the same place with your partner. You can love a person infinitely; but for the well-being of a relationship, you need to meet and live together. It’s hard being apart for a long time. Life is very short; cherish every moment you live and find time for your loved ones.
Let’s not be far apart for long periods without seeing each other.
