Keep In Touch

Some times things get awkward. What if they aren't responding? When do you press on and when is it time to quit? How do you handle other friends? These are some frequently asked questions and problems that can cause trouble with long distance relationships. From my experience here are the best ways to handle these tough situations. - What if its awkward? Things are always awkward at first with things like this but when it is awkward for a long time you may need to adjust what you are doing. Some people are very shy on the phone, letter writing isn't for everyone, the key here is finding what works (see my past entries for more on this). And in the beginning just stick to it even if its hard. It will get easier as you both get used to it. - No response. With mail I would try waiting, mail can be very slow some times, and then try writing again, the letter may have gotten lost, then you could ask them about it. For phone calls its a little different. Once you have called and ...

Once you get a good long distance friendship going you may find yourself thinking, what now? When you start thinking that it may be time for a change. After all, interests change and it is much better to make an adjustment than to continue with something you find boring. And chances are that your friend is thinking the same thing. So how do you do it? Here are some ideas and things that I have found work well. - Be creative. Use your imagination and think about what you like to do with the friends you see all the time. Then find a way to turn that into something you and your long distance friend can do. For example my friend and I loved pioneers so we invented a game to play and on our weekly phone calls we played it. Then we started a diary about the game. Finally we turned the diaries into a book. We haven't finished it yet but it was so much fun. We had to progress through some stages and adjust to our interests. So be creative, work with your interests, and don't be afrai...

When you or a friend move away it can seem like your friendship is over. I can say that after moving three years ago most of my friendships are stronger than they ever could have been when I lived a few minutes away. Why? Because me and my friends were forced to prioritize each other. We had to carve out time and find things we still could do together. And most importantly of all we had to do this our selves instead of just having our mom's schedule something. This is critical because in doing all this we ended up making more time for each other than we ever would have spent together in the first place. For example, before I moved my best friend and I spent a few hours together once or twice a month. Now we spend about an hour on the phone every week. We also write letters back and forth. And we are closer than ever.  Here are some key things to think about when starting out. This can be when you or a friend move or if you are trying to get back in touch with someone. - Find you...