Extended Family - Creating Common Ground for Interactions

From your uncle several states away to your cousins on the other side of the world, your family has expanded to different parts of the planet in recent years. While you miss those moments spent together in person, you don't have to surrender the joy your family members bring. Instead, you can continue to nourish and cherish those bonds. Host Regular Events When you never see each other in person, the chance for the bonds to fizzle out grows. Therefore, you need to make sure that you host regular events. The regularity of these events depends upon how far away everyone lives. For example, a trip to the other side of the world on even a yearly basis can prove too much. However, if every three to five years the entire group gets together for a reunion, this plan is much more feasible. Use Social Media Part of the problem with long distance relationships is that people do not get to keep up with each other on a day-to-day basis. Some of those issues vanish when you sign up for social media accounts. If you are not used to social media for sharing information about fairly mundane activities, getting used to it can prove difficult. However, when you start to share more, you have the opportunity to interact with your relatives. You can see what the others are up to, serving as a reminder that they are the same people whom you once saw in person regularly. Sign up for Skype A major element of maintaining these relationships is ensuring that you have a stable internet connection for today's modern technology. Not only do you need a sturdy and reliable internet source, like that available from Reserve Telecommunications, but you should also sign up for Skype. By doing so, you can chat live with your loved ones. You might decide that you will both watch a movie together so that you can experience it at the same time. Support Interests You also want to support the interests that your relatives have in their offline lives. For example, if your nephew loves to play soccer, send him soccer gear for his birthday. If your great aunt has always loved tasting wines, sign her up for a wine-of-the-month club for this year's Christmas gift. These little actions show that you know more about your loved ones than just what is on the screen. When your relatives are far away, you can still have close relationships with them.