Finding ways to be romantic during long distance relationships isn’t easy. When Jordan and I first started dating in August 2011 we quickly realized that I would be leaving for college in Toronto in January 2012 and he would be leaving for his year abroad in Peru in February. Even though we had only been dating a few months we knew that this relationship was special and worth doing the long distance for. Everyone thought we were crazy but that didn’t bother us in the slightest. I also told him that if he wanted to break up with me in order to enjoy the year abroad to not bother calling me when he got back and he agreed that he didn’t want a break either. Set your standards ladies!

So how did we do the year abroad? It makes me feel old to say but neither of us had smart phones so that made communication difficult. Furthermore, if we wanted to see each other we had to send emails to each other in order to set up a time to skype each other. This made for some trying times but in the end it all worked out because we put the effort in. We both tried to stay in connection with each other and stay involved in each other’s lives which was so important. Relationships aren’t easy and require a lot of work, more so when you’re hundreds of miles apart.

One thing we did was have date nights together. But Talia you were in different countries how did you do that? Well I’ll tell you. We’d pick a meal to make together and pick a movie to watch at the same time. One time we each made gnocchi and then we both pressed play at the same time and watched “We bought a Zoo” together which is still one of my all time favorite movies by the way. A date night like this may seem super insignificant to some, but to us it was everything. It was a way for us to feel like we were doing something together even though we really weren’t. It made the distance feel less intense and reaffirmed our connection to each other. Jord and I still love having movie nights together, only now we can watch the movie on the same couch…and pass out together by 8 pm because we’re parents now.

We also sent each other snail mail which may be old fashioned but getting a letter in the mail is still one of the best feelings in the world. Sometimes that snail mail would include presents like my promise ring or iron man earphones for him. Nothing too crazy but again, when you’re in a long distance relationship those little things can mean the world. We also planned for me to come down for a month which really helped as well. We spent 2 weeks in Lima just hanging out and then we took a 2 week tour around Peru which was incredible. Having that to look forward to made the time apart not seem awful because we knew we’d be together again soon.

Looking back on our time apart I wouldn’t change a thing. Once we finished our year of long distance I knew that we could basically take on anything together. Long distance relationships aren’t for the faint of heart and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t consider ending things at one point because it would have been easier in the moment, but I knew that not being with him would have been even harder so I pushed through. So my advice to all of you in long distance relationships, be corny. Be EXTRA corny. It’ll help until the moment when you can be together again!