The varying levels of lock down and quarantine have cut many off us off from our support systems. Especially with the summer days arriving, a time when so many normally travel to visit more distant friends and family, it’s not easy to feel connected to those important people. I know I haven’t seen my local friends since early March, and man, am I ever missing them!

So, today, start planning something. While using your local restrictions, what can you do to stay connected with others?

Years ago, I was dating someone who lived in another state. We had date nights every week where we would watch a movie on Netflix by starting it at the same time and then staying on a video chat together. Yes, you can, in fact, throw popcorn at someone 800 miles away.

There are hordes of online games you can play together. These are great if you have a large group, or even just with one other person. I recently spent a few hours playing a game with my daughter-in-law and we had so much fun just walking through it and slaughtering all the monsters. If hunting things down isn’t your speed, there are still puzzle games, word games, and more that you can find online.

You can hop into IMs and share music together. Pass links back and forth, talk about what you’re hearing. Or, if you can play an instrument and are missing your band, get everyone into a group video and play together from your homes. Do it just for fun, not for work.

Try to avoid discussing Covid-19, your fears, their fears, frustrations caused by the changes, and keep the focus on having fun with the people you miss. Make it a time to remember the relationships you’ve built, and enjoy the fact that they endure the time apart.