From WBEZ Chicago, it's This American Life.
I'm Khanna Jaffe-Walt sitting in for Ira Glass.
When Shirin Jafari moved to the U.S.
As a young adult, there are a lot of promises made to her family back home.
We 'll be in touch all the time, call you every week,
almost like we 're in the same town, which is the kind of thing you say.
But Shirin actually pulled this off for the last 20 years.
We are a close family.
We message several times a day.
We send each other reels, like normal stuff.
I mean, I don't want to lose those details, those small details of their lives because I am so far away from them.
And they really get into the details, this family.
Who ate what?
How far was the walk?
What's the latest with the dental work?
On the phone, by text, random thoughts tossed out at any hour.
Have you seen this pumpkin dessert?
Unsolicited suggestions.
I would send them.
Videos of exercises they can do at home.