5 Simple Ways to Keep In Touch With Long-Distance Family
I’m going to let you in on a little secret. It isn’t easy having two of my daughters (and my grandson) live halfway across the globe from us. A visit to my daugthers means at least 30 hours of travel and more than a bit of pocket change for tickets.
Over the last five years we have developed some simple ways to keep in touch with long-distance family. I want Percy (and our other grandchildren) to know who we are. I don’t want to be the strange grandma they see every five years. Here are some ways we have found to keep in touch with our multicultural international family.
1. Send Photos to Keep in Touch With Family
Modern technology means I don’t have to miss out on precious moments like Percy and Ben working on a fence together.
This one is pretty obvious, but send photos! I am so thankful we can do this digitally and not have to head to the post office, spend an arm and a leg on postage, and wait two weeks for photos. Iris sends me photos of Percy on a regular basis, which I love. I get to see him grow and change through pictures on the internet. This eases the pain of him being so far away… at least a little bit.
Tilly sent this picture she snapped as she and Jared flew off to Australia for the weekend so Jared could be in a friend’s wedding. Soon, she’ll be sending pictures of her new BABY!
2. Facetime, Skype, or Video Call
We have been video chatting with Percy since he was a newborn. I hope this will keep our faces, voices, and accents familiar to him as he grows up.
Before Ben and Iris were married they used to Skype for hours on end. They even made dinner at the same time over Skype and then ate together. Tilly and Jared spent plenty of time doing the same.
3. Start a Group Chat
One of my favorite things about my crazy family is our group chat on Facebook. Chuck and I, our adult children, sons-in-law, and older teens are all in the chat.
Enoch (I think) set it up a couple of years ago and named it BergChat. It was a simple way for us all to connect, update each other on events, ask for prayer, and of course, laugh at each other, etc. Once Tilly married Jared, Enoch upped the game and renamed the group to BergChatForth, incorporating both last names. I am a little afraid to know how that name is going to change over the years…and how many letters it will have in it!
4. Use a Lovebox
The Lovebox is a simple, minimalist wooden box that contains a fun surprise. With the Love Box app I can send a quick message to Tilly and Jared through an app on my phone. When the message is sent, the heart on the front of the box begins to move, alerting them that I am sending love.
{I received the Lovebox for free, but received no compensation for this post}
I’ll admit, when Alix from Lovebox sent this my way, I thought it was a bit silly…so did Tilly. But, as it turns out, we both really enjoy it! I want to get one to keep here at our house so Tilly and Jared can send messages our way as well. I think this will be so much fun as our grandchildren grow.
5. Play a Game
Playing an online game is a great way to keep in touch with long-distance family. I play Words With Friends and often keep in touch with my brothers that way with the chat feature. I also enjoy playing against Judah, who is away at State Patrol Academy and Enoch who is away at college.
Modern technology has made keeping in touch so much easier. I remind myself of how lucky I am every time I am missing my family far away.
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Do you have family who lives far away? What do you do to keep in touch?
Did Adalia keep her last name and give it to Percy as well? I’m only curious because I love my last name (and have no male relatives to carry it on!) so it’s something I’ve considered doing.
Yes, she did 🙂