And when you have been together with them, don't let it end there. Pick up the pieces and take responsibility for being in contact with them until the next time you manage to meet up.
"It only takes a minute" might be a great musical lyric, but it could just as well be the catch phrase for a person getting in touch and staying in touch.
I know that sometimes you have to grit your teeth and smile at the thought of seeing Aunty Mabel and Uncle Charlie, but guess what? You just made their day by making them feel worthwhile and special. It might have been the case that another member of your wider family might have been over to see them, but it was you turning up the way you did, with a smile, a hug, some flowers, a magazine, that actually did happen and brought some joy into their day for the visit you made.
With text messages and email you can act quickly on the thought about getting together, planning something and organizing something. Better still pop into a shop in your lunch hour, buy a card, choose a nice postcard or gift and post a personal message. Heaven forbid, you could even go and visit them!
The spread of the internet and the opportunity to connect with old friends and former schoolmates or work colleagues has been an amazing gift. The click of a button can put you back in contact with a dear friend from years ago, and when meeting up with them, either virtually on-line or in person. Contact can be as if the time that passed since you last met has never existed and what used to be an important bond or relationship comes back to you with the strength of years, further enriching the life you have now and allowing you to give grateful thanks for what has happened before.
Build the experience and the memories by getting together. It helps all of us to realize we are part of a global community that connects first and foremost at the very local and personal level.
If you doubt any of this then take an hour to sit quietly in the corridor or day lounge of a home for the elderly and ask them whether having a visitor is important. Ask them if they care about whether their visitor brings a gift or how they feel about knowing that someone cares enough to remember them. To them what matters is simply that someone has taken the time and energy to make contact and to get in touch. The presents mean far less than the contact, and the contact is a reinforcement that someone cares enough to be thinking of them.