Scented candles, dim lights, Italian cuisine cooked by me and most importantly her favorite flowers – rose. Aaliyah is out of the city since last week to deliver her motivational speech. Connected by calls, texts and videos this time is reminding me of our initial years of dating.

There was a time when Aaliyah had to be away from NYC to complete a research paper. Being away from the person you love the most is extremely difficult! My eyes used to crave for her single glimpse and my ears used to wait for her beautiful voice. Those missed calls were painful. We had to coordinate and look for a window in our schedule to call and talk.

Love, laughter, fights, tears and surprises – those days were fun! And, we never gave up on each other. We both made sure to love and feel loved.

“How do people carry on long-distance relationships? How did you do it back then, Bob?” People often ask me.

Well, I tell them that it is challenging but not impossible. It requires a lot of patience, understanding, and effort. It requires us to look at the long-term dream that the two have visualized together. It’s doing the little things every day to remind the partner how much he or she matters.

In short, it is being taken by someone with love but not taken for granted. It is letting the person feel loved every moment even during the tough times. It is loving the person more and more each day. Only then the will distance stop feeling like a barrier.

Now that she is going to return after a week tonight, I can’t wait to let her know how much I have missed her. Rose month it is! I have got a beautiful bouquet of roses to welcome her and have also set up the ambience for candle light dinner.

Even after so many years, I am still acting like young Bob who used to feel the butterflies and excitement. That’s what cupid does! Now, I am waiting for the doorbell to ring. Kong too is wearing a T-shirt that says, “I have missed your belly rubs. Welcome back!” I hope that it goes well and I can see the happiness reflecting through her eyes.