Some nights the silence feels unbearable. I stare at my phone and wonder how we’re supposed to keep this up, miles apart, different time zones, missing all the little moments couples normally share.

Some nights the silence feels unbearable. I stare at my phone and wonder how we’re supposed to keep this up, miles apart, different time zones, missing all the little moments couples normally share. It feels like distance is pulling us thinner every day. But then my phone buzzes—your late-night call, your goofy selfie, the way you remember something small I mentioned a week ago. Or when a package shows up at my door, and inside is my favorite snack. Those things, tiny as they are, remind me we’re still a team. That we’re not letting the distance win. And when I slow down and say thank you, I can feel how much stronger it makes us. I use an app called quiet effort. It keeps me from letting distance erase the love we’re still building.