Middle distance relationship:

noun

1. When you live far enough away from your significant other that you cannot see each other every day, but close enough to see each other a decent amount.

2. A term that I just made up the definition for.

So just what does a middle distance relationship mean? Well for me and my boyfriend it means that we do not live in the same city, but we try to see each other on the weekends. It means that the majority of our relationship has taken place with seeing each other only 1/7 of the time throughout every week. And it means that we must rely on clear communication during the rest of the time when face-to-face-interactions are not possible.

Being in a middle distance relationship can mean a lot of different scenarios for different couple. For my particular relationship, we try to balance going to different schools full time, having jobs, internships, social lives, and trying to squeeze in time on the weekends to see each other. In fact, we've never spent more than 3 days together in a row even though we've been dating for nearly two years. It's not easy. It means that we don't get to see each other and offer support (except via texts and occasional phone calls) on stressful school nights. We don't get to grab a quick dinner together on a random Tuesday night before meetings or group projects. And it means that whenever one of us goes out of town or is busy on the weekend that we don't get to see each other for two weeks.

But there are also positives that come from being in a middle distance relationship. It means that if one of us is having an emergency the other can be there within a few hours. It's made us trust that the other person is where they say they are and what they are doing even though we can't see them. It has made us learn not to be jealous even when we've never met some of the people the other is hanging out. And it's taught us that always being honest and open about our thoughts and feelings is the only way we can have a successful relationship.

While it can be a struggle to see other couples spend every day together who don't understand our situation, we know that we are lucky. The people I know in long distance relationships who don't get to see their significant others for months struggle much more than we do. Those who live across the country from each other don't get to share nearly as many moments together as we do. And those who involved with people who are serving our country face fears and challenges that I cannot even imagine.

It's hard not to be jealous at times or regret all of the little moments that we do not get to experience together, but the fact that we only get to see each other for a few hours a week has only made our relationship stronger. For anyone who is frightened of dating someone who doesn't live near you my advice it to go for it. It makes you learn to trust, communicate, and ultimately appreciate the moment that you will get to share together so much more.

Mid distance relationships present their own challenges and problems, but as long as both people put in the effort to make the relationship work then one day when you finally don't have to drive hours to see each other you'll get to look back and be glad about the time and investment you both committed in order to have a happy relationship.