Staying Connected with Friends and Loved Ones

Zoom has been a great resource lately for connection, that's for sure. I honestly don't know what I'd personally (or professionally) do without Zoom and other online meeting platforms right now during these challenging times,  and I'm so grateful to have those options.

This morning, however, I pondered other more intentional and personal ways that didn’t include digital media that I could feel connected with my loved ones during the pandemic. 

I want to share what I came up with with you today.  And if you have any other ideas to add, please post them in the comments!  

---

• Create a scrapbook of memories.  Seriously, it doesn’t have to be fancy and it almost never is the first time you try to start a scrapbook. A scrapbook might just be as simple as a binder that has items taped in it such as a wrist bracelet or ticket stub of an event you attended with a friend, photos, or a menu from a late night restaurant. It doesn't even have to be a scrapbook! I made a garland, of sorts, of photos I printed of people and animals I love, strung together with raffia to hang up in my house.  

• Plant a tree or buy fresh cut flowers that reminds you of your friend or loved one.  

• Watch a movie independently, each curled up in your own cozy chair and wrapped in a blanket eating popcorn. Then call each other after the movie and talk about it! My current recommendation is "The Queen’s Gambit" miniseries on Netflix. We’ve had so many family discussions about it already! 

---

•  Start a book club. 
  
  
• Listen to cherished music.  Whenever I listen to Pink Martini’s song “Hey, Eugene,” it reminds me of a special time together I had in the past with my husband and two of my daughters.  


• Light a candle and sit alone in quietness, allowing any emotions to come up.  

 

• Visit a favorite spot that your loved one also likes to visit.  You might learn a little bit about them.  Ask them to be your FaceTime tour guide! 

 

• Ask your friend or loved one to send a token item to you so that you can carry around a cherished object of theirs -- or wear a piece of their jewelry or clothing. 

 

• Set a place setting for your loved one when preparing a meal. Consider serving their favorite meal even if it varies from your own  palate of vegan curried lentils.  It might include something  like KFC, Doritos, beer, or a pint of ice cream -- speaking from personal  experience...

• Go out on a limb and create an intentional work of art that reflects your feelings.  
  
  
• Learn all about and then make a donation to a charity in the name of your loved one. 
  
  
• Write a letter by longhand, if possible – or a typewritten letter in the mail would also be well-received, surely.  Better yet, write a poem or haiku.  I’ve lately been sewing appliquéd postcards with fabric scraps that I’m sending out periodically to those I love. 
  ​
  
• Spend time out in nature.  One of my favorite things to do is go for a hike in the woods and bring home a tree branch to make a "prayer stick."  It's sweet to infuse the energy of loved ones into the ribbons and bells and decorations, then to hear them tinkle in the wind. 

Take it from someone like me whose love language is touch, I recognize how difficult 2020 has been to find ways to connect with others.  I wish you so much strength of heart.