I soon discovered that my initial judgments couldn’t have been more wrong. Over the next few months I realized how similar we actually were. We had grown up on two different continents but had similar experiences with the most important parts of life. Whether it was music, movies, pop culture, or our plans for the future, we didn’t find much to disagree about. Months turned into years as my then boyfriend extended his work contract so he could stay in the US with me.
We were just like everyone else in a relationship. We went on dates, took trips in and out of the country, moved in together, and got engaged. The only difference was that he happened to come from Sweden. To us this wasn’t a deal breaker and we knew our love was strong enough to cross the globe. Until 2019 we had only been apart a few times, sometimes for a long weekend or occasionally up to two weeks if we traveled separately. But each time we came back with heavy hearts.
Our love language is through spending time together. While technology has come a long way and can bridge the gap between long distance love, it’s still a temporary solution. Only when we’re together does it truly feel like home. And we made the decision to relocate our “home” to Sweden after we got married. Which is when this story really begins.