Venting

Hello , my story is pretty interesting I’d say . I’ve been with my boyfriend for 3 years since I was 17/18 , we met at work and he was 26. He has been my rock and my best friend . He is just the person I can tell anything to . I ended up losing my virginity to him and after about 2 years he moved away to another city but we continued our relationship and would meet each other , spend the weekend together . I am going to school for nursing and my bf decided to go back to school for RT. About a month ago his father was diagnosed with bone cancer .. so things have been tough and our relationship has been strained but I try to be as understanding as possible towards him considering he is working , trying to go back to school, taking care of bills and visiting his father ( when he’s in the hospital ) . He recently came down to visit me and I can potentially start the nursing program in January ( 2 year program) and unfortunately he won’t make the deadline for his program this year so he has to wait another year to apply which his program is also 2 years. His family and I am live in the same place( south Texas ) . He just got a new job at UPS and luckily they pay for his tuition . But I feel like I might have to leave him because long distance is hard. I don’t think I can handle another 3 years without him , going back & fourth. We’ve talked about our future before and it’s just hard because I love him but life is just getting in the way ..