We travel. A lot. Some of our favorite people on the planet don’t live in our town. Our city. Our state. But we still celebrate them and the times we get to have together.
How do you maintain long distance friendships? While Facebook and Twitter provide quick updates, there’s still nothing quite like picking up the phone to hear someone’s voice. Some like Skype. I do not. Probably because I live in my pajamas (never a good look on the laptop). The annual Christmas letter is a must (yes, I know it’s old-fashioned!). And of course, prayer. Praying for others has a way of connecting us to others through the ups and downs of life.
How do you keep up your long distance friendships?
When do you know it’s time to let one go?
I’d say a good 50% of my friendships are long distance. Some of them I met at concerts, some through other friends and we remained in good contact. Usually we talk though A.I.M, or Facebook. Twitter helps too, especially when I forget to text them and know what they are up to anyway.
How do I know when to let go? Well on that account it just sort of happens. We drift or talk less and the natural progression separates us.
I’m so bad at this! All of our family and the majority of our close friends live in a different state than us and I have the worst time connecting with them. I look at their Facebook pages, but don’t always comment. I will text them every couple of months when something reminds me of them. For the most part, it’s pretty much silence until we get the opportunity to see each other in person. Of course, because they’re strong friendships, everything seems the same when we’re together. There’s something missing in not sharing the day-to-day events with them though.
to be honest, I’m asking the same thing. you have helped verbalize a question that continues to linger for me…i’m just not sure if you can replace face to face connection. and to that the reader says, duh! I know, I know…but sometimes I feel like twitter, facebook, email, and even phone can become numbing agents relieving the loss of real connection. “If I stay up on twitter/facebook replies and/or reply to emails then I will be ok…” It just doesn’t work for me. I guess I’m asking the question, “was I ever designed to manage so many relationship across such a broad reach?” i recognize i’m bringing more questions to the table in place of answers - but i will say this, hand-written notes have been a huge help in this process! thanks Margaret, always love what you have to say. alright, i’m out.
As with all friendships it takes both parties to keep things fresh and alive! I often find myself pulling and pushing to keep friendships going long after the other person has moved on to closer pastures! I hate to let go, but eventually I tire of being the only one to make an effort.
I do agree that there is really nothing like a phone call! My husband and I have taken to making phone calls to family and friends for their birthdays or special occasions! sometimes it ends in only leaving a message, but if they call back it is a special treat!
Carolynn
Near friends can be far friends and far friends can be near friends. I personally don’t have many friends and the ones I do have are actually long distance. My closest friend, for example, lives in San Diego. (I live in Puerto Rico) She and I are two peas in a pod! We talk about two to three times a week! We comment on each others ridiculous pictures on Facebook, text, and leave hour long messages on one anothers voice-mails. It’s years in between the times that I get to see her! I really believe God orchestrates some relationships to last…no matter what. Other relationships are simply meant for a season. My husband always tells me…”Mi amor (I couldn’t help myself), most friendships are like boxes. They help you to move certain things from one place to the other.” Once they help us do that (whatever your “That” might be), I think it is when the separation begins to occur. Friendship is so sacred. We aren’t just receiving but we are also giving. When we cannot give anymore…God will place someone else to take that person to their next season and take us to ours. One by one we connect and sew a seed that maybe no one else could and then…we disconnect and that person sews a seed and so forth. What a mystery!