long distance relationships

[Kim and Nath 0]

We usually txt once or twice a day...sometimes 4+ times. We have webcams, we'll talk on the phone, play games online together, and occasionally a long, heart-felt email helps too.

I also keep him in the loop to what I do in my day-to-day. He's met all my friends, but sometimes forgets who is who. I tell him when something awesome happens to one of my friends to keep him in the know. Some of my friends were in Scotland recently and met up with him for drinks - just to let him know that they think he's part of the group, we're just waiting for the wedding!

I think for me, I also have his American cousins over here that are my best friends. We're all looking forward to being family.

Above all else, I know we're feeling the same way. We're very connected- I know I'm thinking about him all the time, and I know he's thinking about me all the time.

At least there's hope soon! Less than a year to go (I hope!).

[KimandRuss 0]

10 years we've been chatting. At first as just friends but still for hours and hours every day. I have not bored of him, or his conversation, not once.

We were lucky enough to have close to a couple of years living in the same household, so going back to chatting online was just tragic. We've been apart for 10 months now (with one 3 week visit). I think we're at a 16 hour time difference now. He has a phone from my verizon plan which works in NZ so we text all day and chat every evening via MSN voice or voice/cam. It helps me to have that to look forward to all day and for his voice to be the last thing I hear at night. We are back and forth in email as well so it's the first thing I check in the morning.

I have my own server so will probably set up live streaming video for him soon as we're waiting a little longer than we thought we would. That way he can feel like he's home any time he needs a fix.

We talk about our dreams, our plans...our day to day. I like to send him special things *wink wink* ....and he never fails to warm my heart with sweet words. It's been years and years of this ...i'm quite sure all of that will continue once we're finally married. Our happily ever after.....

[Ray and Geraldyn 0]

We text in the morning and the evening everyday. We are exactly 12 hours difference that works out pretty good, when my day is winding down she is just starting the next day . We also shop online together when we can. We picked out the colors for our bedroom online and once it was done I took pic's and sent them to her e-mail. I even take Goofy little video's going to get the mail or like when I went to buy the paint, then share them with her on YM when we chat. We talk about how our day went or our plans for the new day anything to help pass the time until we will be together .We also talk on the phone as much as possible. This week we are getting her hooked up to the wireless Broadband (instead of using her phone to connect to the internet) and will be able to call pc to pc for free on YM.

I like the idea of playing games together and also watching a movie together ...we will have to try it

Good luck to everyone finding ways to fill the time until we can be with our loved ones.

[Laura+Tom 2]

At the moment my OH is in Bahrain which, depending on the time of year, is 2-3 hours ahead of the UK. That isn't too bad however he works nights. So when I'm at work he sleeps and when I finish work/sleep he is at work. So we can't really use messenger or Skype during the week. I get round that by emailing him at work or we both use the chat room on the forum he owns. At the weekends we use Skype and Yahoo messenger.

Have you got Skype and a webcam? If you both install it (free) on your computers you can chat to each other for free. I also periodically send him small presents and stuff as little surprises. Just little things like home made biscuits, sweets or chocolate he can't get there, magazines etc. We also send each other e cards, the usual 'love you' 'missing you'. I do send some texts but as I'm on Pay as you Go I can't go overboard! I don't see any point in sending letters to him as, even though mine only take a week to get to him, his take about 5 weeks to get here as they go via the US and Germany. Ever since he left the UK in early Feb I think there has only been a couple of days that I haven't managed to chat to him in someway and that was due to me being away on business where there was no internet available.

When he gets back to the States we'll have to re-gig is as he'll be working days but will be about 6hrs behind.

[jle930sl 0]

We do a lot of the same things as everyone else. Our relationship has been long distance 4 years, together in Germany 1.

We have webcams (though he lost his, so I don't ever get to see him ). We also have Skype and I have a subscription where I can call landlines in 21 other countries for really cheap. I use that service to talk to him a lot. We occassionally text, but only when we need to tell the other person something but can't talk to them. We also e-mail only sporadically. He's not much of an e-mailer, so we just stick to talking with Skype, land lines, or chatting online.

To keep our relationship strong we've spend a lot of time daydreaming. We make plans for our wedding (what type of cake we want, etc), and this takes up a lot of talk time. We've looked at wedding dresses online together, which is always fun to see his opinion of various dresses. We daydream about our future a lot... everything from what it'll be like when he's here/visa stuff (for instance, where he might get a job) to what type of business he'll open in the future (that's his dream).

We also talk about day-to-day stuff. I just got a kitten and I tell him what she's up to, and he tried to help me come up with training ideas for her behavior. He tells me about his work day and I reassure him that it's not too much longer then he can come be with me (he doesn't like work). I keep him up on what's going on in my life here. We also leave each other notes occassionally on my space or in e-mail.

That's really about it. We've played games online too... we make bets sometimes too (i.e. I have to cook one new recipe a month is a current one right now). A few weeks ago we made a bet over a game - if I won he had to get on the next plan to the US to visit me. I won (cause he let me on purpose), and though he didn't actually get on a plane, it was nice to feel excited about the prospect for a little while.

Anyways, I'll stop telling you all my life story. I like the movie idea and the dinner idea..we'll have to do those sometime.

[Jason&Sarah 0]

Well we do a lot of the same stuff that others do. It's good to see other do it too! People in local relationships find the watching a movie together over the phone, or what not to be corny and silly....but it really does bridge the gap a little.

Sarah and I text a lot, and I have vonage and she's ordering it today, so we get unlimited calls to each other. 5 hours difference is rough at times, but with my schedule it works out. the hard part is when she has to go out on the weekends, like to a wedding, or out with friends etc. but we manage.

[Birdie 0]

this post is so sweet, and totally making me well up.

i am 5 hours ahead of him, sometimes its a real pain, but we talk on skype EVERYDAY for hours, He is just learning to cook properly, so he will buy ingredients and bring the whole computer into the kitchen, set it on the counter, and i will tell him what he needs to do next, haha, its very etertaining.

Playing games of course, letters, i know they aren't immediate, but with the time difference i am often up when he goes to collect his mail, so he'll get the letter while i'm online with him.

but my favourite thing that we do is share music, we are both super into music, so we will share files and listen to the same songs at the same time, i feel so close to him when we do that, we both get lost in it, by the time we realise it, hours have past haha. its very sweet.

its his birthday on friday, i have a few suprised up my sleave....he has NO idea.

[LoriLawless 0]

Best way to deal with a time difference, outside of everything said so far (which we also do)

We make videos for each other. We try to do different things, or just talk in front of the camera.

That way your SO can save it and watch anytime he/she wants.

[Sherri and Matt 1]

We met in World of Warcraft in early 2006. Things did not get serious between us until May of 07. We have not filed yet, but plan to do so in December.

We use our own Ventrilo server for voice chat, way more economical than the phone. We talk every morning before work. He works second shift, so even though he is 5 hours ahead of me, we have very similar schedules. As soon as we get home from work, we are back online. We often leave the Vent server up even if we are afk doing other things, it is comforting to know that if I need him, I have only to speak and he will hear me and respond. We e-mail each other every day while at work, and we still game together every day too. This way,m even though we are many miles apart, we are very much a part of each others daily lives and routines. We say goodnight to each other every night. Suprises in the regular mail are awesome.

The most important thing is to keep up all the little things. All of us know those little things that make Us, Us. Those are the things we try to keep doing and to not forget.

Edited July 15, 2008 by Sherri and Matt

[Adoma11111 0]

I agree that playing an online game is a great way. That's how I met my fiance we both play, World of Warcraft. You pay a monthly fee, but's it worth it. The game has a ingame chat so you can talk to each other, chat so you typing constantly and you level your characters together. That is how we come to love each other. He joined my guild and we started leveling characters together and one day we both realized we loved each other.

You can leave mail for each other and it's great to see you have mail from your honey bunny. tongue.gif The hours you spend talking can do wonders for your relationship. I've never talked to anyone as much as I do/have him. The game was well worth what I pay for it each month.

Sounds like John and I. We meet on MonstersGame in 2006. He became my best friend. Over time there was no denying our feelings. Made me question the possibility of soul mates. We were in the same "clan". Eventually our "characters" got married, and we were always together. Everyone thought we were already married. Always nice to hear.

We talk everyday through emails at work and then in the evenings. We play the game together still, and make little... bets Which we can fulfill when we see each other again.

We are both artists so he will surprise me with a drawing, or I'll do the same for him. I also write poetry about us and get it published, then keep it as a keep sake. We also started a book that has how we meet, things we love about the other, our future plans, places to visit, songs... all that good stuff. So we are making it together tho we are 3K miles away.

We also have sent each other songs on how we are feeling... I guess it is all those little things that most couples take for granted.

[~PalmTreeGurl~ 154]

When Adam was in Egypt I was so crazy without him and missed him soooooooooooooooo much ! Some of the things we did to "bond" was .... when we got on webcam I would "teach" him from webcam how to cook a meal... I would tell him what kind of chicken or seasonings to buy and he would set up his cam in his grandparents kitchen and I would direct him to what pot or pan or seasoning to use all by webcam and voice chat. I remember one time his dad was there and came into the kitchen when adam was making a chicken and was like ... what is that!? adam said it was cooked chicken and his dad was like... I dont want any of that to eat! I taught him to make eggs and corn on the cob and just shared those kind of moments over the cam.

We never went to sleep at night without talking to each other. Now that he is here and working nights .... I cant sleep until he calls me on his break... then I sleep good. I love my gozy!

[SMB x2 0]

We do many of the same things that others have mentioned. Webcam, texts, phone calls, e-mails, games. We have "Friday night dates" where we'll go shop for stuff we want online and one of our favorite things to do is put together puzzles on MSN.

We use Skype ALL the time. Most nights, we try and leave Skype on all night, since both of our mics/headphones reach the bed. Because of the time difference, we would only leave it on all night on the weekends and holidays, but now that he's done with work, we have it on all night every night until I go to work in the morning. It may seem a bit strange, but I like laying in bed while reading my book and listening to him snore() and then in the morning having him be the first thing I hear (besides my alarm clock). So far, our Skype record is 36 hours straight

I don't know what we would have done without Skype!

We touch base every day, usually several times a day. We just do whatever we can to stay in touch and stay connected.

Hopefully, we won't be having long Skype sessions soon, since he's now just waiting for his visa to be delivered.

-Shan

[Hannah+Vito 0]

spontanuity allways reminds me and makes me feel even more loved. we just do the usual things that everyone else does but a random text unexpected excites the butterflies ten times more. or finding things out you didnt realise before, like the exact moment he fell in love with me and when he really decided to marry me, (found out in a discussion we had promped by the how did he propose thread the other nite, turns out it was a lot sooner than i realised and the hints he was giving before we serious) those things make me melt. but everything he does makes me feel loved even just wanting to chat for hours every nite and carring that i get enough sleep.

[stacey2008 0]

We try to not let two months go by without seeing each other in person. We have been lucky that for most of our relationship we saw each other every month and have been able to spend a full month together twice. During the times of seperation we text at least hourly, talk nightly and on weekends. We play games on the internet. We share a youtube account and put videos in there and then watch them together for fun. We use webcams. We shop online. We daydream of vacations. We send cards through snail mail and internet cards. We try not to discuss the visa process too much because it can get overwhelming, especially when we first submitted the petition. We talk about our day from what time we got up to what we ate to how we feel. It is alot of effort to keep the relationship fresh and exciting from a distance but it is definately worth it in the end.

[vickydeutsch 0]

Oh my God!! you gave some good ideas Basically we send each other text messages all day. He calls me almost every day after work. Right now The difference between New York and Peru is only one hour so we can get in touch easily. Sometimes I surprise him with a 2 minute phone call during the mornings or just a text message with the romantic phrase: I love you and I miss you......I think I am going to send hima tex message right now

Vicky