The modern family has changed

I hate to ever publicize the "competition." But there are exceptions to every rule. My friend Nick Nash has a wonderful piece on his blog that should be must reading for everyone. The link is here

The piece is about going to a recent family reunion. The computer age has brought us a lot of good things but some bad ones as well. Instead of writing letters, making phone calls or getting off our butts to go see relatives, we simply send them an email. (A friend of mine recently was told by her longtime boyfriend their relationship was over via email. I've also head of couples breaking up via text messages. It's dreadfully modern but rather impersonal.)

The same is true for family that is spread out. In some ways, this is good. Instant contact ... for those who are computer inclined ... is a good thing. But not everybody is that savvy or even wants to have contact that way.

My immediate family is spread out hither and yon across the country. It is almost impossible to get folks in Denver, Virginia, Ohio and Minnesota together. So, email is not a bad thing. But, as I was reading Nick's post, I was reminded that, in the past 30 years or so, my brothers and myself have only been in the same place on five occasions. On two of those reunions, it was a brief get-together, lasting no more than a couple of hours.

(My wife, her sisters and her mother all live within 45 minutes of each other. While they probably don't get together as often as they would like, the fact is they can do it a lot easier than many of us. For that, I am envious.)

It is, I suppose, just the way it is. And I suppose I shouldn't be complaining because it is, after all, in our control to an extent. But we certainly don't have as much people contact as we used to. Earlier this year, I was sitting in a restaurant at lunch watching two people at a table, each busy texting somebody else. At least I think it was somebody else. Either way, they weren't talking to each other. Maybe that was the plan all along.