As someone whose parents live on the other side of the country (and have for over a decade), I have on occasion thought of how few times I've seen them over that period of time. Lifehacker linked to a website a few guys put together called 'Seeyourfolks'. The site tells you roughly how many times you have left to see your parents based on their age, life expectancy and average number of times per year you see them.

Sad yes. But a sober reminder to avoid allowing the busyness of life to crowd out relationship with parents.

It also got me thinking about the average number of times we see our parents per year. I wouldn't be surprised to find out if we see our parents far less that we used to 50 or 70 years ago. With long distance travel so much cheaper in real terms, cost doesn't keep people from pursuing opportunity farther from home. On the other hand, wouldn't those same lowered costs also increase the number of times somebody could travel home?

Actually I'm guessing the biggest change in average has come from the lower numbers of parents who live with their kids. Going from seeing them every day to... once a week? Less? would have a big impact on the number of times per year kids see their parents. But putting that aside, and speaking strictly about people who live close or far from their parents, I still think the average has probably changed.

In any case, whether things have changed or not, you should go call your parents. And I'll call mine.

Woodstock Writings