staying connected with skype while traveling

When my husband’s grandmother passed away earlier this year, he was given a folder of letters he had written to her over the years while he was living overseas. They were such a sweet peek into his childhood. When he was growing up a world away from his grandparents, phone calls were very rare, as they cost several dollars per minute. Even after we got married, the majority of our communication with his parents, who still live overseas, is via email. Occasionally they would call, but not often. Now the cycle continues.
Yesterday my in-laws left. They flew back to India. And won’t see then for 11 months. My kids are devastated. It is so so hard to say goodbye. Colin was crying last night because he misses Grandpa already and the girls are both so sad.  They miss their grandparents so much. Miss going to their house, miss playing games with Grandpa, miss taking knitting lessons with Grandma, miss seeing them…

But wait – we still see them.

Isn’t that amazing?!?!? With Skype, the kids can video chat live with their grandparents who are on the complete other side of the world! If it wasn’t for that pesky 12-hour time difference, we could share even more – school events, concerts and such. I love the ability to live stream a dance performance or piano recital to all our family who can’t be there via the Skype app on my iPhone.

And its great for when you’re traveling!! We used Skype in Jamaica to share our time there with family… with no expensive roaming charges! We put or phones in ‘airplane’ mode and logged into the hotel’s wi-fi to use Skype. It saves us so much money! We are always video chatting when my husband or I travel for work – its a great way to help the kids deal with us being gone and for us to feel connected to what is going on here.  And the group chat is by FAR the easiest way to plan a family vacation without having to fill everyone’s email boxes with 8,635 emails about what to pack!

And I’m not alone – moms everywhere are discovering how valuable Skype is in making deeper connections:

I highly recommend the Skype app. That app has been so valuable to me. I use it daily personally, to chat with family and friends, but it is amazing professionally. I’ve video chatted via Skype while on vacation with my family and been able to work with clients while sitting at my kid’s swim lessons. Its a great way to stay connected and get work done – while still prioritizing and protecting my family time!

disclosure: I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Skype. I received Skype credits to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for participating.