Long Distance Relationships

So, everyone still seems iffy about long-distance relationships. You hear a lot of people say, "Oh long-distance relationships never work out. I can't handle spending that long away from someone I love." Let me tell you something...my fairytale came true. Yes I found my Price Charming online. No, not on a dating site or on social media...

Let me tell you our story.

10 years ago, I met the love of my life. This is gonna make me sound like a crappy person because I was actually in another long-distance relationship when I met him...but my ex, well...let's just say we weren't working out. I tried for 2 years but he treated me horribly. We were going through a rough patch, I ended up buying an Xbox 360 and made some friends online with a few guys who were a bit younger than me.

I spent all of my free time playing games with them. Left 4 Dead, COD, Battlefield...I ended up making a best friend on there who lived in Maryland. We happened to be playing Left 4 Dead when he said, "Hey I got a friend who is really good at this game, let me invite him."

As soon as he joined our Xbox Live party and said, "Hey." that was it. My heart lept in my chest, instant butterflies in my stomach. I didn't need to know what he looked like, or what his personality was...I just KNEW.

After that Left 4 Dead game, and a LOT of flirting and giving subtle hints we ended up spending more and more time together. First time I ever talked to him on the phone I was so nervous because there were no other friends around, just us. We had to deal with having someone host the Xbox Live party for us because our internet providers weren't compatible at the time and we couldn't connect to each other without someone else present but we'd mute the person in the party if we ever wanted to be "alone" which was a pain but eventually we got that issue fixed.

We spent 4 years dating long-distance with visits in-between before he and I decided it would be best he move up to Maine to live with my mom, brother, and I. That didn't work out so well... so we moved down here to Maryland and we've been together ever since.

Now we're engaged and to be married next year in October. Now I'm not gonna say we didn't have any hard times because we did. A LOT of times we went through fights. Being frustrated because we couldn't see each other like we wanted to. We broke up twice and ended up getting back together. Went through a lot of heartbreak but we kept pushing through and that's what you have to do.

If you REALLY love a person, and you guys don't live in the same state or even the same country...just give it a try. Don't give up on a "what-if?" just because people tell you it won't work out. It CAN work, it just takes time and effort to MAKE it work. It was worth it for us, it can be for you too.