When it comes to having good mental health, one of the most important things to help is having a strong connection with your family.

I know not everyone gets along well with their family members and if that is the case, having strong relationships with friends will also help.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve started to realize how important it is to have these strong relationships with my family. When I was younger, I’d call my parents maybe once a month and hardly ever spoke to my sister.

Now, I talk to my parents multiple times per week and text message my sister almost daily. Having these connections with my family have helped me out a lot over the past few years. 

They have been vitally important over the past few months, though.

Moving to a new place where you don’t know anyone is a big adjustment for a lot of people. That adjustment has been a challenge for me at times, especially going from such a populated place like South Florida to Torrington.

Last week, I called my dad and we talked for about 15 minutes or so. I told him how things have been going with work, what I’ve been up to in my spare time and some of the things that have been bothering me lately.

After hanging up with my dad, he sent me a text about 30 minutes later asking me if I had a couch. I was really confused by the question, but told him I don’t have a couch, just a recliner and a regular chair.

He then sent me another text and said, “sounds good, I’ll see you on Friday.” I couldn’t believe what I was reading. My dad lives in Rockford, Illinois and had recently gone on vacation, so I knew he didn’t have many vacation days left.

When he arrived Friday afternoon, we immediately went out for Mexican food and some beers. We both love Mexican food after spending many years living in border towns in Arizona and California. The rest of the night we hung out, drank a few beers and showed each other various metal bands we’ve been listening to lately.

On Saturday, I took him to all the places I enjoy visiting around the Torrington area. First thing was a stop at The Bread Doctor early in the morning for some breakfast before heading to Guernsey to see the Oregon Trail Ruts and Register Cliffs. On the way back, we stopped in Fort Laramie to check out the National Historic Site and to do some exploring since we’re both history buffs.

In the afternoon, we went to Scottsbluff to see the National Monument and to check out the town. My dad worked at the Star Herald from 1996-97 and he hadn’t been back to the area since. We drove by our old house, which is a total dump now, and just explored Scottsbluff.

He headed back to Rockford early Sunday morning, but it was great to see family for the first time in six months and it gave my batteries a much-needed reset. It’s always important to visit with family when you have the chance.

This week I’ll be taking some vacation and heading to Duluth, Minnesota, and Hayward, Wisconsin to see my mom, stepdad, sister and brother-in-law. 

My sister and brother-in-law recently purchased their first home in Duluth and have a new Corgi puppy. I’m excited to see them for a few days before going to my mom and stepdad’s place on the lake in Hayward.

It will be a week filled with fishing, boating, relaxing, laughing and spending time with friends and family I don’t get to see often.

I haven’t lived in the same state as either of my parents for over a decade. I was in Texas during my six-years in the Air Force and spent five years in South Florida going to college.

As I’ve gotten older, I started to realize how important family really is. Even just taking the time out of your week to call or text with them can make all the difference in the world.

Like I said in the beginning, I know not everyone has a great relationship with their family; but you have to remember, at the end of that day, they are still your family.

I encourage everyone to take the time to reach out to a family member who you haven’t spoken to in a while over the Fourth of July holiday. Life is too short to not have those meaningful relationships with the people who love you and care about you.