life after long distance.

While chatting with a sweet friend last Friday, she told me she clicked through my long distance love stories on a regular basis. I spent the rest of the weekend thinking through how I could better keep this important facet of my blog alive. If Google Analytics tells me anything, it's this: people need more faith in long distance.

{cv} and I will celebrate five years in the same place this June. For the last 55 months, we have had the privilege of waking up next to one another. I call it a privilege because I have little reminders of our long distance days when {cv} travels for work. I hate how cold the left side of the bed is on those nights and I sleep terribly. I always anxiously await when his call before he goes into meetings...just like the long distance days of old. These days apart every so often serve as reminders about what we endured, but in the strangest way, they also give me peace in knowing how strong we are together.

While the acute pain of long distance has finally faded, much of what we learned during our three years apart is still alive in us today. I can tell when he is busy at work by simply hearing the tone of his voice. He can tell if I've had a long day by the tone of my voice when he walks in our front door. Those years we spent on the phone {before the real advent of Skype} taught us to pay attention. I know they always say that hindsight is 20/20, but it is truly only in retrospect that I've learned to love the lessons from our long distance years.

Long distance wasn't all peaches, but we survived. Wherever you are on the long distance spectrum, I hope this post encourages you to keep the faith. In a certain number of years, you'll look back and realize the heartache of your time apart was worth every. single. tear. I know I do. With all of this in mind, I know people desperately need that encouragement. For those of you in need of that hope for long distance, I promise more posts on this topic. For those of you not in a long distance relationship, I hope you'll indulge me every once in a while to share the love to those who need it.

For those who have survived long distance, how do those years apart live on in your daily life? xoxo {av}

P.S. Could your story help others in long distance relationships? Share a bit more about it with me--and you might be on {long distance loving} one day. {If you've shared your story recently, thank you. I'm wading through the submissions now!}