Being in a long distance relationship can be one of the hardest experiences, but it also can make you extremely grateful and makes the heart grow fonder. I am not talking about a long distance relationship with a significant other, instead, I am actually talking about a long distance relationship with my family. I live 17 hours away from my family so it takes more than a hop, skip, and jump to see them. Going from seeing your family every day to twice a year is quite the transition, but it makes seeing them that much better.

You learn to appreciate them for the tiniest things that maybe you took for granted in the past. For example, I miss the days where I lived with my family and my mom made all the phone calls for my appointments and now I have to own up and take care of my own responsibilities. Or the weekly dates of going out to lunch with my mom when now I can only get lunch with her twice a year. I miss the times where my dad would fix something of mine when it was broken or my car because we all know I am the worst handy man in history. I miss going on adventures with my brother and watching him surf.

There are many things I miss about living in close proximity to my family, but it is not the worst situation. In this time and day I can contact them with a press of a button, and my communication skills have improved because of the distance. I still talk to my mom once a day and I have grown even closer to her despite the many miles separating us. I learn to appreciate my mom and dad’s home cooked meals even more and it is a treat for visiting. Also, I always know when I will be visiting my family next so I constantly have something to be looking forward to. It keeps the excitement going and we start to make plans months in advance.

One of the major cons of a long-distance relationship with your family is not physically having them there when life is throwing obstacles in your direction. When sometimes all you want is a hug from your mom or a family member next to you telling you it is going to be okay. But you learn to stand on your own two feet when you do not have them constantly there, and you grow. A lot.

Family reunions are also way more exciting when you have no clue what everyone has been up to, which can end up being a good or bad thing. You have so many crazy stories and it is impossible for time spent together to be boring. You appreciate the time spent together so much more when you are apart for a long period of time, but I promise that this is the best long distance relationship that anyone could ever be in.