Thursday, September 22, 2011

Keeping In Touch... How do you do it?

How do you keep in touch with family far and near especially if a.) they don't know about your blog or b.) you don't use your blog to update about your family? How do you keep in touch especially with family you hardly ever hear from/talk to?

For a long while now it's been on my heart to stop complaining and feel left out by the lack of interest in our family our family members have shown to us since we first moved away almost 4 years ago. In the same aspect fb has been the only way we used to see what possibly has been going on with them. They don't blog. We never email. We used to share pictures but they stopped check the sites we emailed with updates. They never post about their families on fb. Only we do. No one seems to care. We have a protected family blog but even then only 2 people that I know ever check the site.

I stopped posting on it.

I know it isn't about bragging... that isn't our intention... we are just wanting family to be apart of our lives I guess. No one in the family except 2 grandpa's know... like actually know... our children at all. That kills us. We have come to terms with our family members don't want to be close.

Ok.

Fine.

We don't understand it but that seems to be the case.

So, back to what's been on my heart for a while now, I have been wanting to send a family newsletter out to all our family members and friends. All of them. Not just at Christmas time but like every other month or so. Every quarter? We haven't decided yet. We found a way to share the newsletter online so all they have to do is click. We tried printing it yesterday but it didn't print out well on our end. We aren't sure what to do. Mail it or Email it that is the question.

We want our family and friends though to know our kids. Especially aunts, uncles, cousins, grandma's, and grandpa's that have never even met 2 of our children. EVER. Oh yes there are grandparents that have never ever met them. Never really talk to them even. Maybe our approach is selfish? Maybe it is wrong?

Any thoughts on it?

Are we in the wrong to be sending out info about our family to family and friends that haven't seemed to make it a priority or care to see what is going on with us? In the same token that question slaps me in my face. We aren't trying to call them. They aren't much on talking though. Trying to have a conversation sometimes is literally like pulling teeth and then it's only a 2-3 min conversation. Very "how is the weather" like.

What is the right thing to do?

I would really love your feedback.

How do you keep in touch with your family? Friends? Ones that really don't show any interest at all?

2 comments:

Dionna said...

Of course you're not in the "wrong." You have a very gracious attitude. That being said, I wouldn't put your heart out there to get crushed. If you want to try out a newsletter type thing - do it at little cost to you in case there isn't the interest you desire. So, I'd say do it online instead of in the mail so you don't have to pay to print and mail it out.

You can't force people to be interested in you. But you can foster what interest is there and you can certainly try - if that's your heart's desire.

I don't have a newsletter or a family blog. I email pretty much. Call my grandma about once a month and text here and there. Some of my relatives are on facebook (barely) some are not. I just touch base once in awhile via an email to an aunt or something and say "I miss you."

Whatever you decide, it won't be wrong. Boundaries are okay. So is mercy. :)

Corina said...

That is very hard......our situation isn't that bad, but we do have some of the same things going on. I try to have the boys make something for different holidays and send it to grandparents. About 4 times a school year we sort through their finished school papers (that I don't want to keep!) and mail them to aunts/uncles/grandparents with a short note about what they are learning in school. I would say to e-mail your newsletter if everyone does e-mail. Mailing it can get expensive, but I guess if you don't have that many, everyone loves to get "real mail"!