Let’s be honest: long-distance relationships can be really tough. When your partner is miles away instead of by your side, it’s easy to feel disconnected and might doom your relationship. However, while being apart is undeniably challenging, it doesn’t have to spell the end of your romance or bond! With some creativity and practice, you two can keep the sparks flying and the relationship thriving! Take action and stop worrying even if you don’t see each other in person very often.
Here are five ways to convey your feelings to your long-distance partner. Long-distance couples could also have their own romance!
1. Cook a meal together over video chat.
Since you can’t go out to dinner at your favorite restaurant while apart, recreate the experience of sharing a meal together remotely. Pick a recipe you both want to try and cook at the same time while video chatting. Share your cutting boards and stoves through the camera so you can see each other’s progress, laugh about mishaps, and encourage each other along the way. Once the food is ready, arrange your laptops so you can sit down for a “dinner date”!
Not only will cooking together virtually allow you to spend quality time but tackling a new recipe can be an entertaining challenge. It leads to memorable stories and inside jokes. And of course, being able to sit down for a candlelight dinner, clink glasses, and share stories makes it feel like old times even when you can’t be physically side by side. While video calls may not seem that romantic, adding the shared experience of cooking and then eating a meal together creates new rituals and intimacy that will keep your relationship close, even despite the distance.
2. Share your playlists and listen to the same music.
Whether you use Spotify or YouTube Music, create playlists of songs that remind you of each other or have special meaning to your relationship. Maybe the song that was playing when you first kissed, or the album you listened to on your first road trip together. Share your playlists with each other, then put on your headphones, start the playlists at the same time, and let the music transport you two to memories of good times together. Even though you’re miles apart, listening to the same songs or discovering new music as a couple will create a sense of closeness and shared experience.
3. Send a care package of daily essentials.
Since you can’t give your partner a hug, send a hug in a box! Pack it with things he uses often to remind him you’re thinking of his everyday life. For example, basics like his favorite tea, coffee, or snacks; a gift card to his regular takeout shop; things that reflect an inside joke; or a handwritten note about small moments you two miss. The everyday nature of the items shows you’re tuned in to the mundane details as well as the big romantic gestures. A surprise delivery is a perfect way to brighten his day and say you care.
4. Write letters and open on Valentine’s Day.
Share your heart on paper with love letters to your partner. Share cherished memories of when you first met or of a perfect date together. Describe dreams of your future as a couple or things you look forward to doing once reunited. Most importantly, tell your partner what you love and admire about them and why Valentine’s Day means more because they’re in your life. Even though you won’t be together on the day of love, you’ll feel close reading expressions of affection and devotion you’ve written to each other from afar.
5. Plan your next date over video chat.
While you may not know exactly when you’ll see each other next, talking through plans for your next date will build anticipation for when you reunite. Discuss something you’re both dying to do together in person, like trying that new dinner spot with cuisine from a country you want to visit, hitting up a museum to see an exhibition before it closes, or just curling up for a movie marathon with snacks! Working out the details of a date to look forward to will keep you feeling bonded and excited for the future living, even when you can’t be in the same place. Mapping out your next romantic place will make the distance feel less isolated and the time until you meet again passes faster!
There are no flowers or restaurants, but we can listen to the same song together, watch the same movie, and imagine our next date.
If you’re in a long-distance relationship or your partner is about to move away for a while, don’t lose hope! Staying close while apart just requires open communication and a genuine desire to connect! Whether it’s trying a recipe over video chat or sending a sweet surprise to show you care, sharing everyday details and experiences helps you two continue to feel like an important part of your life, despite the distance. Making plans together gives you things to look forward to in between visits or when you’re reunited.
And of course, saying “I love you” and appreciating each other should be part of your daily dialogue, even if you don’t get to say it in person. Express love and care frankly, and you can make this relationship closer and stronger!
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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Photo credit: Everton Vila on Unsplash
