Distance Part 1

So, if you keep up-to-date with my (seldom atm) blogs, you will know that my boyfriend is studying a million trillion miles away in another country.

Well... maybe that was an over exaggeration. He is studying in Denmark (and I live in NI), but to me that feels like a lifetime away.

Saying goodbye to Jamie when I was leaving Liverpool, after my trip over to see him, felt like one of the hardest things I have ever had to do because I knew thought I wasn't going to get to see him for the guts of 6 months.

Jamie left for Denmark on February 2nd and although with him attending Liverpool John Moores we already had some distance, I knew this kind of distance was gonna be a struggle. Any of you who have been in or are currently in a long distance relationship I'm sure you are able to sympathise with me. It's hard.

On February 10th, I got a message from Jamie on whatsapp. His message said "I know you're off Monday's so you better come get me :P xxx". This same message contained a screenshot of the flights he had booked back to Belfast for over 2 weeks! I was over the moon, I couldn't believe it. Jamie had booked flights home to see me. I had the biggest smile on my face.

So that was it, I KNEW I only had to get through the next 6 weeks (give or take a few days) and then I would be able to see and spend time with Jamie again.

In my head I thought "I can do this".

When February 13th arrived I knew that it was gonna be difficult to not be able to spend Valentine's Day with Jamie. So I prepared myself with a plan which included FaceTiming Jamie a lot.

The next morning/February 14th/Valentine's Day I was woke up at 8am, yes 8am. A time that I rarely see (zzz). But to my surprise mum wasn't wakening me to do something for her or to help her out and instead the reason behind disturbing my dreams was because a parcel had arrived for me.

A Parcel? For me? I was very confused.

Why is there a parcel? What's in this? It isn't something I've ordered, it's too big.

My 12 red roses + what the note attached said.

I proceeded to open the parcel, with my eyes half open (the sleepiness probably added to the confusion) to find flowers inside. Not just any flowers but 12 red roses. Now, keep in mind I wasn't expecting a Valentine's Day present from Jamie so I was very confused to who had sent them. Thankfully, I found a note saying that they were from Jamie. Safe to say the smile on my face was even bigger than the one from February 10th. I couldn't believe it MY boyfriend got me roses delivered to me for Valentine's Day even though he was in Denmark. No one can argue with me that I am one lucky girl to have the most incredible boyfriend on the planet.

I'm still buzzing 2 months later!
Calm down Shannon. Breathe in.....and out.

Okay, where was I? Oh yes. So the weeks went on, me and Jamie FaceTimed a lot and messaged each other everyday but it just wasn't the same as seeing him in person and talking to him in the flesh. I couldn't hug him. I couldn't kiss him. As the time went on, and Jamie coming home grew near it just seemed to get harder and harder. The closer it got to the date, the more I missed him, the more pain the distance caused me. I was NOT coping well. I couldn't take it anymore. I was getting super frustrated.

And although it was clear that Jamie really missed me, he just seemed to have been coping with the situation a lot better than me.

The last few weeks, maybe even days before Jamie came home I think the distance and the stress and the frustration and the upset got to me. Jamie and I had our first argument.

And if I am completely honest, the reason behind the argument is a blur. But at the time I was angry and upset. At the time it mattered to me.

However, what I do remember is the way in which Jamie handled the situation. I bet after reading that sentence your automatic reaction was to think the way he handled it was bad, or wrong or insensitive or... wait why am I telling you what you're thinking?

Anywaaaay...

Jamie handled the situation in a way I thought I could only have dreamt about. He was determined to make things right and was willing to do anything to make me happy or put a smile on my face. To me, thats the kind of boyfriend I have every right to call the "perfect" boyfriend or "best" boyfriend because it's so true. I couldn't ask for anyone better.

Some unknown time later (as I can't actually remember when the argument occurred) it was finally the night before. Jamie was due to arrive tomorrow evening and the excitement had taken over. I had bubbles (more commonly known as butterflies). I couldn't sleep.

Actually thinking back, I have no idea why I wasn't writing this blog that night as I clearly had nothing else to be doing at 3am when I was too excited to sleep.

But yeah. I eventually got to sleep.. obviously (doh!). But don't ask me what time at because I don't even dare to think about it. I think it's best for all of us if it's left unknown.

The next day I woke up earlier than usual (especially with going to bed so late). It must of been around 10 (I'm aware that's not early but regardless I still got next to no sleep). I'm not too sure if my family woke me up or the excitement of Jamie coming home. Either way I was super tired. And I knew the day was going to draaaaaag in.

Each hour that passed felt like a day.

But after keeping myself occupied, by going on the mac, visiting my dad, going to the shops etc etc etc, for what felt like a week..the time had come for me to go pick Jamie up from the airport. It was starting to feel real. I had so much adrenaline kicking in. I was buzzing!

So I plugged my phone into the aux cable in my car, put on the playlist I had created on Spotify and headed for Belfast International Airport.

I arrived slightly early so instead of paying the extortionate parking prices at the airport I decided to wait at the side of the road (like the other 6 cars seemed to be doing) about a mille away. Even though I was only about 20 minutes early, the time dragged in. I kept checking my phone but the time remained the same. Each minute that went by seemed to be 10x longer, I'm not even exaggerating.

FINALLY, I received a text from Jamie informing me he was off the plane. I knew he had no baggage to collect to I proceeded to the airport.

When I arrived at the "Set down/Collection" Point, Jamie was already there waiting for me. I had intense bubbles. I couldn't wait to get him into the car to give him a kiss that when putting the seat back (I only have a 3 door car) I managed to hit his head. I clearly had no patience.

It was so good to finally see him.

Once we had embraced each other and put our seatbelts on, we headed straight to his house in Ballyclare for Indian Takeaway.

Interested to know what we got up and the adventures we took? Keep an eye on the blog (or better yet click the follow button) as I will hopefully have another blog entry posted soon. (No promises that it will be overly exciting)

Later! ♥