When it comes to living away from family, I have found that it can be really hard to deal with at times. Since my immediate family lives in a state far away from all of my family, I have had to learn how to handle the loneliness that comes with the territory. While I do not regret our decision to move, I do know that I am missing out on a lot by being so distant.

In this article, I will address some of the issues that stem from being away from family and how I maintain relationships with those I love.

Life living away from family can be really trying at times. I have found that the inability to drop in on family has left me feeling lonely at times. While some in my family would wonder why it is such a big deal, since we never dropped by when we lived closer, the inability to have the potential to drop by on whim can make it more of an issue.

Holidays are real tough to deal with when you live far apart. I remember tons of Christmas, Thanksgivings, and other holidays where the family would get together and catch up on everything that has been going on. It gives you the oppurtunity to share with one another and enjoy good times while you are visiting. Since the Fourth of July just passed, it brought back many memories of my Aunt and Uncle's house where we would spend the whole day eating, visiting, and setting off fireworks. My wife's sisters house at times would provide us with the same oppurtunity for fellowship. I have fond memories of both where it was funfilled times to be had by all.

Another time when having family close is important is when you need assistance of some sort. you might need someone to talk to, help with dealing with issues such as moving, or just the need to be around family to bring spirits up. When you live in another state, you are only afforded the oppurtuinty to have conversations over the phone or internet which can leave a cold feeling at times.

Famly emergencies can be especially tough to deal with when living far apart. I have run into a couple of times where someone was ill and I had to make emergency trip back to Washington to help with the situation. One time when my mother was in the hospital, my wife and I drove 24 hours straight in a rental car so that we could get to the hospital. We were so exhausted by the time we got there and back it took a week to recover.

Communication is a powerful tool when you live so far away.  Finding various means of maintaining connections is important when it comes to family.  Cell phones have become a powerful tool for keeping in touch.  Being able to send a text message or placing a phone call can let someone know you are thinking about them.

I have found that over the last couple of years, I had lost touch with a bunch of my family.  Sure I had placed phone calls to a few of my family members, but not enough to really know what is going on.  Last night, I enrolled for the first time on Facebook and was immediately able to add 25 family members to my account.  I talked with my cousin for over an hour just catching up on some of the things I had missed and what she had been up to lately.  It was really cool to see all of the pictures of my family members.  Some of the newer members, I had never even seen before.

I also found that if you do not keep in contact with your family, you might not be able to get ahold of them when you need them most.  When my wifes family was faced with an emergency recently, my wife and I went through all of the family members phone numbers in our cell phones only to find out they were no longer in service.  It took us a couple of days in order to get ahold of everyone we needed to talk to.

I cannot stress enough the importance of communication.  While most days you will find that you don't need to talk to anyone other than you immediate household, you will be faced with a time eventually like the one I mentioned and you find yourself out of touch with those of importance. 

Family members, whether you like them or not, are important in everyones life.  They are normally the ones that are really going to be there in times of need.  Maintaining these connections though the use of sights like Facebook, can assist you in keeping close ties to those you love.  Now that I have found most of my family, I will work harder at keeping the communication lines open just in case.