The art of long distance

So, you and your honey are in two different places. How is love to survive in such terrible conditions? Well, much like a houseplant, every relationship needs a certain amount of TLC in order to thrive and put out new leaves. And a long distance relationship is no different, except, think of it like an exotic plant that might need a little more attention than your garden variety cactus. Here are some things you can do to keep the romance humming even when you’re far away.

1) Date night: Just because you don’t live in the same city doesn’t mean you can’t go on dates. For this, all you need is a PC or a laptop with video calling enabled and a good set of headphones. Each of you dress up in your own rooms, turn out the lights, add some candles, order in some food and you can have dinner together at a specified time. They’re in another time zone? No sweat, you have breakfast while they have dinner, you can still dress nice.

2) In jokes: One of the things people in LDRs (long distance relationships) miss the most is the day-to-day intimacy. Having someone who knows the new people you met, the road you took, the bar you went to. A good way to keep things intimate is to initiate some kind of in-joke, a private thing between the two of you, and the two of you alone, to make it known that they’re special in your life. Send references to this joke throughout the week, a text perhaps, as you go into a meeting, a random one line email, a message on their Facebook wall, to let them know that you might be far away but they’re in your thoughts.

3) Letters: Get to know your local postman once more. No one sends real old fashioned letters anymore, but let’s face it, nothing is quite as representative of you as your handwriting. Even if it’s terrible, it’s something your fingers have touched, a letter you have written, and your partner will appreciate it. Carry around sheets of paper, and add to the letter whenever you have some down time, waiting for someone at a coffee shop, for example, or right before you go to bed. Post one missive once a week, get them to do the same, and you’ll have a nice little bank of letters to re-read each time you’re feeling lonely.

These are our tips. Do you have more? Add to them in the comments!