Life is hard.  It gets really messy.  So do relationships.  They are rarely easy.  Sometimes they are really hard.  It’s what you do during those hard times that defines the trajectory of your relationship’s future. When you or your partner are faced with hard times, you don’t run, you stay.  When it’s the realest thing you’ve ever known, you stick around.

A partnership is something I never had with a romantic partner.  I didn’t have a partnership with my ex-husband.  It wasn’t until I met my current partner that I truly understood what that meant. It means that:

• I can trust him with anything and everything.
• He will be there for me, no matter what.
• We both have a commitment to our relationship.
• It means we are both working towards a common goal.
• We are two people who are building a life together.
• What we have is so much more than a relationship.

As in all relationships, there will be some rocky days.  It can’t all be sunshine and rainbows.  I accept that and that’s okay.  I like to think that the darker days help us to appreciate the sunny days a little more.

There are roughly 700 miles between my boyfriend and me.  This is the first long-distance relationship I’ve ever been in and, let me tell you, it is not easy.  But it’s totally worth it because we know where our lives are going.  The end goal is no miles between us.  So, for me, remembering the end goal helps me to deal with the distance between us.

Meeting this man has taught me what true love is.  It has taught me that no matter what, you fight for that love. It has made me believe in magic again.  It has proven to me why past relationships ended the way they did.  So, when things get hard, I’m not going anywhere.  I will work harder.  Because this love is worth everything.