Hello friends!

I have friends all over the US from going to school on the East Coast and in Milwaukee but being from Minnesota and now living in the Brainerd Lakes Area. It’s hard to keep up with everyone sometimes, but social media really helps! What else helps? Phones and video chats.

Full disclosure, my mom is one of my absolute best friends. We live about 2 hours away from each other, but we talk on the phone basically daily. I call her on my commute to or from work every day and we usually talk at least once over the weekend. It’s such a great way to stay close! My mom isn’t the only one I talk to on the phone to stay in touch though— my other besties also get commute calls from me.

Mary and I talk about once a week (sometimes more, sometimes less) when we are both driving home at the end of a work day. We try more often, but we miss each other when our times leaving work don’t line up. Mary and I also talk a bunch by text and messenger on facebook and instagram. While Mary lives in Milwaukee, this helps us keep close. Outside of my family and Andrew, she is probably the most important person in my life.

Another friend I talk to while driving (and yes we also text) is my friend Kim. We net volunteering for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s and just clicked. Unfortunately, we both are busy and it’s hard to meet up. We don’t let that stop us though, as we call each other on our commutes into the office once or twice a month.

One of my best friends from undergrad’s name is Katie and she lives in Connecticut. When we were both living abroad after college, we started a habit we called Wineskyping. We’d chat regularly on Skype, while drinking wine (usually to start at least). Honestly, we were close before this started but we got even closer and it was amazing. It definitely helped that we were in the same time zone in Europe (I was teaching English in France and she was studying for her post graduate degree in Switzerland). After we returned to the US, we kept Wineskyping. We drink a lot less wine and a lot more water or pop or tea now. We try to video chat once a month, and have switched to FaceTime from skype, but it’s still a great way we keep in contact.

Technology really helps me keep in contact with my best friends! Between social media, video calls, texting, and phone calls it is amazing how much easier it is than it used to be.

~Natalie