Image by The Library of Congress via Flickr

While it may be easy to think that your grandmother knows little about your life, or that your great aunt Sally couldn’t begin to understand raising children merely because she never had any of her own—think again.

Keeping your family relationships strong means more than seeing them every few years for a family reunion or on their 70^th birthday; it means keeping the lines of communication open. It means hearing them out, and applying to your own life what may just work. Strength within family members takes a great deal of listening and more than a little understanding if you disagree.

If you make your relationships about differences, you won’t get very far. But make your relationships about love and understanding, and there’s no reason not to believe you will keep your relationships strong.

Interviewing a grandmother or a family member you know little about is a great step not only toward genealogy, but getting that connection you want. Who doesn’t want to talk about their life? Asking a family member out to lunch, or making a surprise visit does wonders for relationships too, as does making a point to sit with a family member during a reunion and scheduling a later time to get together; email works great but don’t count on it for secure bonding. There comes a time when that needed telephone call is in order.

Whatever you decided to do to strengthen your family relationships, just make sure you do it with an honest heart and an open mind ready to listen. There will be no mistaking your instant connection.