23 Things People in a Long Distance Friendship Understand

Having a long distance friendship can be as difficult as a long distance relationship. Friendship is not about how often you see them; it’s about how great the time you do get to spend together is. Quality > quantity. Here are 23 things anyone with a friend far away can understand.

1. Not being able to conveniently drive down the road to their house at the times you really need them the most.
2. Constantly checking their Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook to see what they are up to.
3. Making more FaceTime calls than actual phone calls.
4. The expensive postal fees every time it’s a holiday or their birthday (because who wants to wait till the next time you see each other to give them their presents?).
5. Missing them desperately, and always at the most inconvenient times. Especially during a heartbreak.
6. The excitement you get when you see them after a long time and can pick up exactly where you left off.
7. Tagging each other in way too many memes.
8. Having them be your #1 friend on Snapchat (with a 100 day streak mark).
9. Counting down the days until you get to see each other next.
10. Being grateful for technology and wondering how people did the letter-writing thing back in the old days.
11. The struggle of time differences. While also always forgetting about the time difference. Accidental 2 a.m. calls are not rare.
12. Making “appointments” in your planner for when you will be talking to them.
13. Having an obnoxious amount of pictures on your wall that you look at when you miss them. (And never getting tired of laughing at the embarrassing ones.)
14. Appreciating doing the little, everyday things together. Going to the grocery store or out for pizza has never been so fun.
15. Watching TV shows together while video chatting. It’s basically like you’re watching the show together, right? How could you ever watch “The Bachelor” without your BFF?
16. The crying followed by the sad withdrawal you go through when it’s time to say goodbye (or rather “see you later”).
17. Owning a bunch of dorky, cheesy friendship trinkets that you each have a half of. “Best” and “Friend” bracelets aren’t just for middle schoolers.
18. The struggle of having to explain who your distance friend is to all of your local friends.
19. Disagreeing with the quote, “Out of sight, out of mind.” Yeah right!
20. Completely relating to the quote, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” So, so true.
21. Worrying when you haven’t heard from them in a few days (…or hours). Time to text their friends and check up on them!
22. Spontaneous road trips to visit each other.
23. Having more Southwest Airline points than a 40-year-old business man who travels regularly for work.

All friendships take work. Some take more work than others. Just remember that long distance friendships are worth the effort and should be valued. Cheers to friendship!