One of the downsides to the FIFO lifestyle is having to say goodbye every few weeks or, in my case, every 11 days… Being in a DIDO/FIFO relationship for a decade now, I understand how time flies when your partner is home. You’re excited to see them walk through the door. Next, your love them being there when you wake up, then you blink, and they’re packing their bags, and we saying goodbye.

Emotionally, saying goodbye in this lifestyle can be one of our most challenging things. Their home time never feels long enough. Yes, we survive it… we stay strong and keep ourselves busy until the next RNR. We know going into this lifestyle is part of the routine, but it doesn’t make it any easier.

Believe me, after 10 years, I still have days where it’s hard to say those words and smile through the tears. This has allowed me to see that we are very much in LOVE…. if I didn’t feel this way, then it wouldn’t hurt or be hard to part.

Knowing that my partner somehow hates the goodbye reassures me that we are ok in this lifestyle and that our love for each other is stronger than the distance.

For me, this is something to be very proud of. As many couples are not in this lifestyle, see their partner every day and don’t get to feel or have the gentle reminder of how in love they really are… but that is a whole other conversation, which I will save for another day.

Saying goodbye to your partner doesn’t mean we are saying goodbye to our relationship.

It’s just the nature of our relationship while in this lifestyle. The change from being a physical relationship (Kissing, cuddling etc) to one that is more communication (phone calls, texting, skype etc), which can be fun!

By having both physical and distance, we learn more about ourselves and our relationship much faster, creating a stronger bond or connection. A non-fifo relationship doesn’t get to experience both physical and non-physical, or if they do experience it, it’s usually not over a long period of time, so the positive impact of missing their partner can be short-lived.

In the urban dictionary, “goodbye” means “Leaving someone or something, and sometimes never seeing them again.”

I thought I would share my tips on saying goodbye a little easier.

Try not to say the word goodbye, as it has a final ending feeling to it, so formal. It can also reinforce our subconscious mind that this is the end, connecting it to our relationship because one partner is leaving the other.

Keep it casual and try to use words like:

Talk to you tonight
See you later
See you soon.
Have a good day or night
Take care
Catch you later
Bye for now
Safe travel
Until we meet again 😉

Keep it fun by saying:
Peace out babe
Smell you later
Toodle-oo
See you later alligator
Give em hell
Happy trails
Adios (Spanish word)

You could channel your inner 50 shades by saying:

Laters baby
Spank you later baby

And add a wink or two!!!

Romantic goodbye:
I’ll dream of you
I’ll see you in my dreams
Au revoir (French always sounds romantic)

Keeping your goodbyes playful helps keep the love, desire, and flirty fun alive. Keeping the feeling of love and desire alive while apart, in short, creates a sense of wanting in the partner who is away… creates a desire or yearning to be with you… I will share more about desire another day.

Little tip: for those who want to try the cheeky goodbye… maintain eye contact, get into their personal space… get in real close and go in for the hug; linger a few seconds longer and if you feeling really playful or want them to have something to think about on their way back to camp… either go in for the killer kiss or squeeze their sexy sweet cheek… (Yes, I mean their cute ass!) Now don’t say a word if they ask what’s that for… just wink and say your version of good-bye, “Until we meet again or Laters baby” If this is something you don’t normally do, it will surprise them, and they will LOVE IT!

So before you both zoom off into the world, take a minute to communicate how much you enjoyed your time together. Make a date for your next call to touch base, as this helps you feel connected with each other. Follow this with a minimum six-second kiss. Kissing is an act of emotion, and adding a six-second kiss creates or seals an emotional connection, a bond between two people.

Saying goodbye is an unavoidable part of FIFO relationships. Remember that the time spent apart allows you to appreciate your time together. So, however you say goodbye, remember to keep it fun and playful, as it’s not forever!

Later’s Baby
 xoxo