When deployed, what did you do to maintain connection with your family?

Wrote letters. Saved major portions of paycheck so we could afford the once annual $25 per minute call if we couldn't make it through the queue to MARS.

(People today have NO concept or appreciation of what comms were like a couple decades ago)

As a young airman, I was off on my first adventure in life. I wrote some letters, and made a few phone calls. I even hopped military "space available" flights and went home for my brothers wedding. It took three days to get from Hawaii to Ohio, and I missed the wedding, but had fun visiting with the family anyway for a few days. We didn't have computers, and cell phones, and email back then, so communication was limited to these options.

Wow, I am OLD! Back in 1978 the only way to communicate - hand written letters and an occasionally a rotary dial telephone! What the hell was Skype or internet back then?