Give your aging long-distance parent a “_____-a-day” book and ask them to text you a photo of the new page each day.

I’ve bought my dad a cloud-a-day, a tree-a-day, 365 days of Marcus Aurelius, and 365 days of Rilke quotes and that’s covered us for almost 4 years now? This also works with those day by day calendars, but books are a little more effective. My dad loves sending me the “photo of the day” and sharing his reaction. It gives him something to look forward to and ensures we will have a small, yet positive and meaningful text exchange each day. It’s helped us create a healthier relationship in the last few years.