I live at some distance from most of my family, effectively the entire width of the continent. Consequently I don't see them often, nor they me. In theory technology is supposed to bridge the gap, but I find that is largely not the case. Perhaps this is a peculiarity of my family as opposed to others, but out-of-sight often means out-of-mind. Plans to Skype regularly simply fall by the wayside, in part because the nieces can't be convinced to get as excited about that rather than whatever is going on in their neighborhood. I can't blame them. Playing the distant uncle is lonely.
I do try to visit every year, but this usually falls on the semester break, or the holiday season and this is, by my reckoning a poor time to visit. Travel is unpleasant (although my flights out were uneventful, early, and surprisingly not entirely packed), and at the holidays, as my siblings get older and have children they are pulled in multiple directions by their spouses, local friends, and the like. Friends are often difficult to see for the same reason. Upon my arrival back home I always vow not to make the trip the next year, but lose my resolve over the months that follow. One feels a great deal of guilt about this, especially if one has the time and the resources to make the trip.
