Long-Term Relationship Milestones

Time moves fast and unnoticed when you're in a loving relationship. It's not until you're celebrating a milestone when reality hits you — you've been together for so long, and that’s something worth celebrating.

The milestones you achieve together define the journey of your relationship. They allow you to look back and realize just how far you’ve traveled and grown as a couple.

It’s also a significant indicator that tells you the strength of your love for one another. Through times of prosperity and misfortune, you held each other’s hand. No matter how small or big the wins and losses were, you were there to cheer and support. All those sweet and bitter memories you shared deserve to be acknowledged and celebrated.

How important are these relationship milestones? Will a relationship suffice without it?

The Importance of Relationship Milestones

Listing each other as your emergency contact is a milestone.

Trying not to hide your bodily functions is one, too.

Understanding your inside jokes and code words is also the same.

For some, these things might not matter much. But for couples, it can mean a lot. These are just a few of the many relationship milestones you are likely to encounter, and their importance can’t be understated.

Because of this, you not only see each other as an ordinary couple. Instead, you are each other’s partner in crime and best friend. You can be sweet, intimate, and caring like other couples are, but you can also be fun and trusting to each other at the same time.

Below are common long-term relationship milestones:

Being exclusive.

Dating involves numbers.

There is no guarantee that you will meet your perfect match the first time you date. Since compatibility is difficult to quantify, not all people who date eventually become exclusive.

Consequently, the process of finding love can be disheartening. But once you find the right person, you'll look back at all the effort you've exerted and tell yourself it was all worth it.

Meeting the parents.

Most people would agree that once you’ve met each other’s parents, your relationship instantaneously levels up. In a way, your relationship status suddenly transitions from “we’re dating” to “we’re official.”

You no longer have to second-guess whether your relationship is the real deal or not. The fact that you’ve introduced each other to your respective families says you’re in a committed and exclusive relationship already.

Lovemaking.

When you reach this point, it means that you’ve fully accepted each other. There’s trust between you and her, and it helps in developing a deeper connection.

Getting intimate with a new partner is a milestone for your relationship. Relatively, it’s also a turning point for each of you, as you’ve finally opened up yourself again.

Especially if you’ve been through a recent heartbreak or have lost a loved one, making love with someone new for the first time can be as encouraging as it can be.

Sharing secrets.

If you’re in the kind of relationship where you can trust your partner with your dirtiest secrets, where you can share your thoughts without fear of being judged, and where you can be open with your feelings, then you’re dating a keeper.

Knowing each other’s favorites.

Ordering food is sometimes confusing, especially when you’re doing it with someone. But for couples who can finish each other’s sentences and read each other’s minds, it’s a lot easier.

It’s a milestone when you can order for her all on your own, as she does for you. It only means that you know each other well enough about your food preferences and favorites.

Having pillow talks isn’t awkward.

What makes pillow talk great?

It’s during bedtime where you can have some of the most honest and intimate conversations you could ever have with her. You can talk about serious or random topics but can still feel at ease with each other.

It’s also an opportunity for you to express what you consider acceptable and safe when you’re in the bedroom together.

Unless you’re able to talk as intimate as this, you’re yet to achieve this milestone in your relationship.

Traveling together for the first time.

Traveling together helps you find a lot of things in common. While it is also a way to learn more about yourself, it lets you see a more genuine side of her when you’re in a different place and with unknown people.

When you’ve reached this milestone in your relationship, doing activities together will be a lot more fun for you.

Calling each other by your pet names.

Pet names aren’t childish. It’s something you shouldn’t be embarrassed about because it’s your way of expressing love and fondness for each other.

Revel in the fact that only you have the right to call each other such names, setting you apart from other people outside of your relationship. On another note, these names are also indicators of a happy relationship between the two of you.

Saying the three words.

I love you.

You can’t underestimate the meaning and value of saying these words to someone you deeply care for. When you’ve finally expressed your feelings for each other through these words, you should cherish it.

Although some think that actions speak louder than words, sometimes, hearing her say it is what you need.

Take note that women also appreciate hearing this from you.

Milestones Reveal a Deeper Sense of Connection

Milestones are often the most meaningful things that happen in fulfilling relationships. It takes compromise, sacrifice, and hard work to achieve it because love alone doesn’t suffice.

What others fail to see is how vital it is to relationships. Yes, two people can stay together for a long time, but does it necessarily mean achieving these milestones?

No. In reality, the length of your relationship doesn’t always justify the milestones you have and are yet to achieve.

In the end, it’s your partnership that matters. Keep in mind that without these relationship milestones, you would have nothing else to hold onto other than your love for her.

Now, take time to realize what you’ve achieved together so far.