We Forgot An Important Date
A Tiny Life Moment of my long distance relationship
The Moment
I received a text this evening that read, “Babe, we forgot something important.” from my long distance boyfriend of five years.
“What could it be?”
My train of thought was interrupted by a video call from him.
“We forgot! How could we forget?” he said and started laughing with his head in this palm.
Realizing that I still haven’t figured it out, he hinted me.
“What was the date two days back?”
“26th August. Why?”
He looked at me with his head cocked to one side, nodding, eyebrows raised, and a touch of a smile, while gesturing with his hand to spill out the words.
And then it struck me. It was our fifth anniversary!
The Reflection
Being apart throughout our relationship, we never got a chance to celebrate our birthdays, Valentine’s, or our anniversaries together. Besides the usual monthly meetups, our relationship has been essentially virtual. I suppose that is the reason which led to this incident.
But the distance was never an obstacle for our implicit love. It helped us perceive the significance of what we have while we patiently waited to be together again.
A dating/wedding anniversary is a day when you reflect on your past, recollect fond memories together, and rekindle passionately. I did not feel the need to mark a specific date in my calendar and commemorate it, because every day with this guy felt out of the ordinary.
I was smitten that he was the one who remembered our anniversary because it validated his sense of priority towards this relationship. Not that I doubted it. It just made me fall deeper in love with him.
Even with little face time, our union had the maturity to apprehend that we did not have to pick one day to celebrate us. Likewise, neither have we organized overzealous displays, nor have we purchased extravagant gifts for each other.
Having a drink together on a candlelight dinner date for our anniversary is definitely something we look forward to doing. But the fact that neither of us has given it more emphasis than it demands is what is worth celebrating.
“Missing someone is a part of loving them. If you’re never apart, you’ll never really know how strong your love is.”
-Unknown
The Take-away
- You need not wait a whole year for a specific date to honor your love.
- Contrary to the common belief, LDRs are not that hard. If you truly love someone, the distance does not matter (having access to technology and the internet, most certainly helps).
- The boomerang effect — The more love you give, it will be reciprocated.
- Relish the “tiny moments” in your relationship, rather than materialistic tokens of love. Especially in an LDR, when the grief of parting is insignificant compared to the joy of reuniting, the little things are all you cherish.
“The little things?
The little moments?
They aren’t little.”
-John Kabat-Zinn
