Sounds wonderful, Amy.
Strange as it may seem, with me having been out in the Middle East for nigh on 10years now, when Taffy told me he was immigrating to NZ, I felt devastated. (Don't tell him as he's big-headed enough as it is with having his 'stalker' on board now
).
I have to say, though, since he's been down there I have MUCH more communication with him than ever before and it's so much easier and cheaper to communicate, with the Net particularly, than it was in the UK where you'd have to fork out for phone calls or petrol to visit. If your mum (or a family member to help her) can get her head around using the Net, she'd feel so much closer to you. If you could only set something up now, while you're still there, so she can see how easily it works, it would set everyone else's mind at rest, too. As long as both parties are near the computer at the same time, there can be instantaneous communication if needed. Can't fault that.