I written several times in these pages about the number of nationalities and cultures that are represented right here in my neighborhood. My neighbors come from Samoa, Tahiti, Japan, Korea, China, the Philipines, mainland US and right here in Hawaii. It’s that way throughout our island paradise. We have a very fluid society, with new folks arriving on a regular basis. Some do it after months or years of planning and dreaming. Others come here for a vacation or to serve in the military and realize that Hawaii is where they’ve always wanted to live. Conversely, some island kids grow up and want to see other places.

The down side of all this is that many of us live thousands of miles from our families. My son lives in California, which is only a five hour flight away. The remainder of my family lives mostly in Texas, about double the travel time (and expense) by the time you figure in a change of flight along the way. It can be hard to maintain family ties with such distances involved. We all have active lives that can't be abandoned for frequent visits, so we look for other ways to connect.

ZOOOF, The Family Network is helping unite families just like mine. They’ve not only created a platform for family members to come together, they’ve given us the tools to share family histories, photos and more. Invite your family members to join and watch your family tree grow. It’s all done with a secure login, so you can keep your family skeletons in the closet! Nice concept. ZOOOF.Com is in beta stage right now, with a small group of forty-nine families. On February 14th the beta stage will end and everyone will be invited to join. How appropriate to open it up on a day dedicated to love. Oh, I forgot to mention - it's free! If you absolutely can’t wait to begin uniting your family, send your name, country, gender and email address to invite@zooof.com . They sponsored this post and will get you all hooked up!

Labels: family, internet, payperpost