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she's 120 miles away from home in her first year of college. i miss her so much. 120 miles might not seem like a lot (thankfully it's not), but it feels like a million miles away some days.
maybe you are in the same season as me? with a child off somewhere in her first year of college, and you just want her to know that you love her, you're proud of her, and you're still/always there for her. maybe you're like me and since you can't hug her every day, you have to do SOMETHING ANYTHING to send her love? maybe these ideas will help you? i'm just doing my best here lol :)
here are some simple ways i'm staying in touch with my college girl, encouraging her, and loving on her across the distance:
// texting her. seems obvious but it works. we text a LOT and by we i mean i text her a lot :) i text her the things i would say to her in person if she was still here at home, like "need anything from the grocery store?" and "drive safe, have fun, take pictures!"
// send prayers and scriptures. whatever the Lord puts on my heart when i'm praying for her, i send to her via text or email. i let her know what i'm praying for her and Bible verses to encourage her especially when it's relevant to something she's going through.
// pretty, fun, funny, sweet images. my daughter is not on social media otherwise i would DM her or tag her in posts/images/memes. instead, i screenshot or screen video and send her any image i come across online that is pretty, fun, funny, sweet, or would otherwise bring a smile to her face. Pinterest is a great place to search out specific graphics! i've been using Pinterest a lot to find a cute graphic, screenshot, crop, and text to her.
// facetime. we don't facetime as often as i would like to, or even as often as i imagined we would, only because our girly has a pretty full schedule. but as often as we can, we facetime her and it always lights me up from the inside out to see her face on the screen. it's so good to see her smile in her new surroundings.
// LOCKET app. have you heard of this app? it allows you to connect with someone and share photos to each other's phones. the four of us in our family share a Locket, we each have the app, and at any time, we can take a photo on the app and when we share it, it appears directly instantly onto everyone else's phones. it's really neat! we can react/respond to eachother's Lockets, and they are saved within the app. check it out - i highly recommend for friends near and far! Locket Widget on the App Store (apple.com)
// cards. i frequently stock up on "missing you," "just because," and "blank inside" greeting cards to send to her in the mail. i try to get a card in the mail to her once a week. she once told me that the email from university telling her she has mail in the mail center is the best email to receive! :)
// care packages big and small. sometimes i'll stick something fun in the greeting cards i send- like a gift card, fun stickers, pictures of us and the dogs, or a face mask, something flat that can go easily USPS with stamps. other times, like maybe once a month, i'll send her a bigger "care package." maybe not necessarily a package but maybe a bouquet of flowers, a box of fresh cookies or cupcakes from a local bakery, or some of her favorite snacks. instacart and uber eats makes it pretty easy to send stuff like that! i also use amazon to surprise her and have things delivered straight to her: boxes of her favorite popcorn, a cozy blanket, a new vinyl record, a pumpkin carving kit, a mini christmas tree for her dorm room...things like that.
// welcome home gifts. throughout the days and weeks that we are apart, i accumulate little things and compile a gift to have for her when she gets home. things like her favorite candy, lipgloss, stickers, snacks, magazines, and other little things like that. i set it up in her bedroom so when she comes home there's a lovebomb surprise there waiting for her :)
doing things like this help make the miles between us and the time apart not seem so far. i'm just trying to make the most of these days! :) hope this helps you, too!
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