Bridging the Gap

For about 5 days around New Year's, we had my in-laws come visit and stay with us. All of my husband's family still lives in England, so we go over to visit about once a year and his parents and occasionally brother or sister and family come to visit us. We love them dearly and it's always very difficult to say goodbye. Talking to a friend recently whose family is in California (about same flight time as to London), she said, "It would almost be better to never see them." It would - to make a clean break emotionally would help prevent those outbursts of grief when you have to leave after relishing in each other's company. When I spoke with my Mother-in-law about this, she agreed with how difficult it is. She brought up the story of her Uncle, who emigrated from England to New Zealand when he was a young man. He never saw his Mother or most other family members again. At that time, the trip was made by boat, and I guess it was very difficult and probably expensive to make trips between the two countries (not to mention long). He decided to detach himself, probably to make it a little easier to cope.

Although sometimes I think that way is easier, I know I could never do that. Even though it can be difficult in a number of ways, we do all we can to stay close with my husband's family. I'm so thankful for modern technology, including airplane flights with decent meals and in-flight entertainment, (not to mention stewards that somehow stop your baby from screaming after you've tried everything), telephones and international phone plans, and webcams. If you have any family that lives far away, have you thought of getting a webcam? You can purchase a good webcam for around $50 (although you can pay less or more for one as well) and use it with a free service, like Skype or MSN Messenger. It's so wonderful to have a little bit of face time here and there. We can also see our little nephews playing with each other, rather than just hear it in the background over the phone. I also started a blog where I can post photos and videos of my toddler playing and going through day to day activities, so my overseas family can feel like they're experiencing it with us.

Although I can get caught up in thinking about the difficulties of long-distance, God reminds me to praise Him for the blessing of family that we love and for the numerous ways we have to stay close with them. It's very hard to live so far away from family, but I'm thankful that today there are resources that make the distance a little easier! As my Mother-in-law said to me, "Now if only they could invent some kind of beam transportation that brings you from one place to another instantly!"