VikariouzlyTME | Long Distance Relationship: Goodbye is the hardest part! [OPINION]

You look at the calendar and the count down. Just two weeks before his arrival. You send him a message, "OMG, two weeks until you are here, I cannot believe it!" He responds, "I know, I can't wait to see you, hun." You stare at the phone, grinning from ear to ear. You cannot believe it, he will be here soon. You double check the itinerary for his trip. You double check your personal itinerary of activities to do while he is in town. Book flight to somewhere fun - check; entry tickets to some touristic place - check, reservation at some restaurant with great reviews on Yelp and Google- check. Everything thing else - check. You are happy, you are satisfied, now you just play the waiting game.

Fast forward, two weeks later, you are at the airport. You park the car. Walk over to the arrival section. Your heart is beating so fast. You haven't seen him in months. It doesn't matter that you spoke with him on video during his layover. You are so nervous. A zillion thoughts crossing your mind, some of them even a bit silly. Should you hug him first before kissing him? Should you kiss him first? Do you say hello babe? Perhaps hi babe will be better.  You check the board and receive the confirmation you need. His flight has arrived. Your heartbeat goes a little bit faster. Your palms are sweaty. You tell yourself how ridiculous it is that you are this nervous to see him. After all, you have known him for so long. You have been together for so long. For the love of all things crazy, you are married to him! The first person from his flight emerges, your heartbeat triples. You strain your neck until it almost falls off, trying to catch a glimpse of him. After what seems like a life time, you spot him coming. You break out in a big grin. You wave, he sees you, he smiles. He approaches you, all the calculations and thoughts on whether to hug him first or kiss him first fly out of the window.

You hold his hand as you walk back to the car, it feels so unreal. Wow! You can't believe he's here in the flesh. You get in the car to drive home. You ask if he's hungry. You ask if he's tired. You just don't want to let go of his hand. After all, you have not been able to hold it for months. You get home, he showers, he eats, he's tired but you are trying to balance letting him rest and spending every second with him.

As the days fly by, you try to get in activities - movies, restaurants, tours, flights, meeting up with friends. You leave work, drive home with only one thing on your mind, seeing him. You get home, he's there. Wow! you didn't expect him to not be there, however, it still feels so unreal that he's there every time you get home from work. You are over the moon with happiness, but one thing is inevitable, the days are flying by, he will be leaving.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks later. One more week until he leaves. You know he is leaving that Saturday evening. It's inevitable. You dread it. You do not want to talk about it. When you do talk about it, you always follow it up with but it's okay, you will see him soon anyways.  You try to smile. But you just know that it will hurt saying goodbye. He tells you not to worry, everything will be okay.  You try to be strong. You carry out the rest of the week's activities. You smile at work, you smile with siblings but inside you are sad because you know he will leave soon.

Fast forward a couple of days to the day before he leaves, you are helping him pack up his bag. You try to make sure he does not forget anything. You put on a brave face. You ask him questions, "Do you have your wallet?" "Do you have your house and car keys?" and "Have you packed your pants?" He responds yes to all your questions. You steal hugs from him as you run about packing up his things.

Fast forward to the night before he leaves. You cling on to him like he will disappear at night if you let go. You wake up every hour to check if he's still there. He opens his eyes and tells you it's okay, he will see you in a few months. He begs you to try to get some sleep so you do not end up with headaches. You think to yourself that you'd gladly get headaches if it meant he doesn't leave.

Morning comes. You try to smile through the day. You are not hungry but you try to eat because you do not want him to worry about you. You know he's sad to leave as well but he's being brave for you. So you have to be brave as well. It's time to drive to the airport. You get in the car. You hold on to his hand the whole way. He tries to tell you stories but you are secretly wishing that all flights back would be canceled indefinitely. But you know how unrealistic that is. You get to the airport, he checks in. He drops his bag. You sit there for a little bit. But it's time for him to go. You walk with him for a while. But you can only go so far. And soon enough, you reach that point. The point where you cannot go forward because you do not have a boarding pass. He tells you, he has to go on now. You smile at him. He asks you to promise him you won't cry. You tell him you will try not to. You start telling yourself not to cry. He hugs you. He kisses you. You hug him again. You hang on for dear life. He kisses you again. You let go and say good bye. You wish him a safe flight. Then you stand and watch as his goes off. He gets to the last place you can see him before he heads off, he turns back, waves at you, blows a kiss. You wave back and kisses back. He turns around and walks off from view. Your heart breaks. You walk towards the car, telling yourself that you promised not to cry. You go home and wait for his message, telling you that he has gotten to his layover.

It hurts each time you say goodbye. But the truth is, you'd never trade him, your relationship, what you share, and your experiences with him, for anything else in the world. #Longdistance

Credit: VikariouzlyTME Blog