Out of Sight, Out of Mind

Maybe it's because I'm pregnant and my hormones are all over the place or maybe it's because I have old-fashioned ideas about relationships even though I'm 30 years old.  Whatever the reason, I am so tired of cultivating relationships - friendships and familial alike - that end up in the other party totally withdrawing all contact simply because I no longer dwell within 25 miles of their residence.  What is so amazing to me is that obviously my devotion to the relationship meant nothing for as soon as I move, the relationship is over - at least in the other person's eyes.  Why is this?  Whatever happened to keeping in touch?  Especially in this day with so much technology at our fingertips, why can't people just remain in touch with one another no matter the distance?!?

OK, so you can see I've been burned more than once on this distance relationship idea.  It wouldn't matter so much to me that people decide to cease communications if I had only known them for a year or two - and I'm talking about really knowing someone, not just some acquaintence - but the relationships that I'm referring to have been cultivating, maturing for more than six years and now...nothing!  No Facebook message, no text message on my phone, no email, no phone call, definitely no snail mail - nothing!  Out of sight, out of mind, is the supposed view on relationships today and I'm sick of it!  I realize that people can draw apart when physical distance is created and that the closeness of the relationship is no longer the same, but that doesn't mean people should stop communicating altogether! 

If people truly value the relationship they are in, I would think it would involve little difficulty in keeping in touch.  Of course both parties would have to work at making the relationship survive, afterall, it is a two-way street.  For example, I have known one of my dearest friends for more than 12 years and we only spent one year together in college and after that I moved to the other side of the country!  Yet, we have remained in touch so that we know what is going on with each other and we have even traveled across the country to visit each other's families.  Why can't more people exhibit such devotion and passion to keeping a relationship alive?  Especially if they're family?  

Out of sight, out of mind...I don't think so.  If you have developed a relationship with someone and one of you move away, who cares!  Keep in touch, connected, and continually cultivate the relationship!  Great friends are hard to come by, heck great relatives are hard to come by, so do the best you can to keep the relationships alive!  Work a little harder to write an email, take 5 minutes to call a friend, or post a wall message on Facebook.  It's good to remain in touch with those who've known you for so long and can see how you've grown into the person you are today.  Let's keep in touch...