Photo by Dylan Ferreira on Unsplash
For many people, the last few months has been a time of unprecedented closeness to our partners. Many of us have never, and perhaps will never, spend this much unending time with our spouses outside of your honeymoon. For many chasing younger love, though, this might be a time of great separation. If you aren’t living with your significant other, chances are you’ve seen them very little in the last few months, and that distance can be taxing. You may also be separated from other dear loved ones, like an elderly parent. These times have separated many people from those they care deeply for.
It is stressful to have to deal with everything going on right now, and even more stressful to have to deal with everything while keeping a safe social distance from your loved ones. Maybe you are a healthcare worker and your partner is not. You may normally live with them, but for the last few months you have been staying somewhere else to limit exposure. For many couples physical touch won’t be an option until this crisis is over.
So how do we maintain intimacy and loving relationships while staying safe? With adversity there is always a chance for incredible love. This is a chance for you to flex your romance muscles and think outside the box. As this pandemic began I read a number of articles that speculated whether Victorian love letter writing would find a resurgence in this time! There are old forms of love that fit this predicament rather well. But as romantic as letters are, they are slow and aren’t so much direct contact as indirect. This is 2020; we can do even better!
Video chat apps like Apple Facetime, Google Hangouts, Zoom Meeting and Skype can all be used for professional business meetings and hangouts with friends — but consider how you can incorporate them into your relationship. Try a romantic dinner for two, sharing a date night as you watch a movie together, or even playing board games via app remotely! Technology has brought us closer than ever at a time we can’t be within 6 feet of each other. Try out a number of platforms with your loved one, send them messages, video chat them, bridge that distance in some new ways. None of these strategies will be perfect, of course; this is a hard time, and is going to be hard for a while. But making an effort can help your partner feel loved and valued across distances — and can help you feel a deeper connection even through separation.
Remember, this too shall pass, and when the quarantine is over, our hugs will be so much sweeter, our kisses so much deeper. Look forward to that moment as you write your next love letter. Your relationship can weather this storm.
