~~~~~
"The near and far must be relative and depend on many varying circumstances. Where there is fortune to make the expense of travelling unimportant, distance becomes no evil."
----Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Having been separated from most of my family most of my life, I'm used to distances. I've lived far from my father since I was 5. The distance felt much greater when I spent the summers with him and it was my dear mother who was far away.
As I've grown and raised my children, I appreciate the concept of having family nearby. I've hardly ever had that, except for a few years when we were within a 2 or 3 hour drive from the in-laws and my mother. We were close enough to visit frequently; they were close enough to help when the need was urgent.
For the past 15 years we've been almost equally far from both sides our families. We've made a lot of very long drives and tried to maintain ties, and I can say that physical distances are a lot easier to cross than the emotional ones!
