Surviving A Long Distance Relationship: How To Not Get Lost At Sea

I wrote a hand-written letter to Johan last month after watching the documentary Maidentrip, and realized how very much a long distance relationship is akin to being lost at sea.

Everything begins to look monotonous. You find yourself waking up each morning hoping you can spot land... only to be let down by the unending flat line of the horizon.  The sailing is choppy at best, and even sunny days can be brutal.  You begin to wonder when you will start searching for a volleyball to name "Wilson".

9 hours of time difference. 5,490 miles apart. For 5 years, 7 months and counting, that has been Johan's and my commute.  We have never spent more than a month together at any one time.  We went 4 years before ever even meeting in person.  But over time and technologies, we have come to utilize every form of communication at our disposal. We have done everything from making videos on YouTube for one another, to designing, budgeting and building a brand new kitchen using IKEA's layout builder and GoogleDocs.   

Johan and I may not be experts, but we feel we have a bit of experience now with the difficult art of a Long Distance Relationship.  Below are the top 10 tips we can give to anyone in (or soon to be in) an LDR, to help prevent feeling "lost at sea".  Have you got any to share?

50 Songs (and counting!) for When You Really Miss Someone

Music.

Somehow, the combination of words and sounds can make me feel like I am both expressing how I feel, and being understood for how I feel, all at once.  Just like the value of a good cry or having a friend to vent to without repercussion, music is extremely therapeutic.

The following list contains 50 songs (with more being added after publishing!) from an ongoing modern/indie love song playlist we've compiled for those who, particularly, are separated, missing one another, waiting for one another, and/or navigating obstacles.  Our list has about 108 songs on it, but these are some of my favorites.

If you're the type of person who looks to music to help understand what you are feeling, try a few of these out.  I've organized the list to start off soft, build up, and then come back down again. Hopefully I didn't misplace anything and kill the flow!

The Swedish Sambo Visa in 2015 Part 5: The Science of Waiting (6 Things I Learned in the First 6 Months)

After 6 months of waiting, I did a lot of reflecting on my 3 hour drive to San Diego to do my interview in July, and I wrote some notes about everything I had learned about myself and my relationship with Johan during the first leg of The Great Wait.  In no particular order, they are as follows: