About

I never thought I’d find myself in an international long distance relationship. The thought never crossed my mind!

 

I had met my SO in person, in the United States, near my house. We lived miles apart for over a year. We were friends. Then, that changed and we became more than just friends. Problem was, he was headed back to the Philippines. His visa was about to expire and he had to go back– Leaving me 13,000 miles behind and our relationship totally up in the air in limbo.

I will never forget that day he left. I was crying. He was crying. My mom, my sisters….everyone was crying as he walked away, passed airport security, and stopped to take one last look back at me before passing out of sight to his terminal. I remember that last look. That smile and nod. And I remember silently making my way back to the car with my mom and sisters who had come along so I wouldn’t be too lonely driving home. I remember the long drive home. I remember the tears. I remember the pain. I remembered the fear, the uncertainty, the questions, the doubt, the loneliness.

I remember the next day…at work, constantly looking at the clock and mentally calculating where he would be and what time it was where he was at. Then came the first Skype call.  We had agreed to be online at a certain time so we wouldn’t have to pay for any international calls or text. We talked for several hours, the whole time my thoughts were a jumbled mess,

“Oh good, he made it safe!”

“So. this is how it will be….can I do this? Will we make it through?”

“How the heck did I end up like this?!”

“This isn’t fair!”

And the ever present, “I only know I miss him, I want him here!”

But. We had determined to make do with what we had. He loved me and I loved him so we were prepared to go through the fire. So we settled into our new life. Looking back, as difficult as it was, and although I doubt anyone would actually chose long distance if they were given the choice, our relationship wasn’t so bad. We truly learned to make do with what we had and since we were determined to never give up, we made the most of it, looked for the good in it and created our own unique set of memories. And now that we are together and weathered the storm?  I wouldn’t trade it for the world!!

Perhaps it is true that our relationship wasn’t ideal, and many might say totally crazy, but in many ways it was actually normal. We still laughed, we still cried, we still fought, we hurt, we apologized, we forgave, we trusted, we talked, we played, and we prayed. Oh we definitely prayed. Without Our Lord, I am sure I would’ve lost heart and hope. One of my greatest comforts was visiting Our Lord at Church at the same time as my SO. It was those times that I felt closest to him. When I knew we were both kneeling before God, Who was holding us both close to His heart, right next to each other. It was those times I knew I would make it through.

I suppose everyone has to make their choices, but if you really love someone, the distance won’t stop you. You will learn to overcome the distance in your own special way and you will do as we did. Create your own unique set of memories that you will treasure forever. You will look for the bright side, and hold on to the dream when you will be together.