Ally, Michael and Hayden live in Paradise, Texas
Cody, Zachary, Kassidy and Jacob live in Clarksville, Tennessee
Ryan is stationed at Ft. Lewis, Washington.
Ezra lives 5 minutes away in Newton, North Carolina.
It’s hard being a long distance Nana and Grandma. We have 9 grandchildren and only one, Ezra lives around the corner from us. What a blessing he is. But the rest all live out of state. I miss being around my grandchildren so much. Calling on the phone is an option which I don’t take advantage of…mainly, because I do all the talking in most cases. Writing or emailing is the same dilemma. I want to be there in person to hug, squeeze and kiss!! And just laugh at their cute jokes….all of them have a wonderful sense of humor. Maybe they take after their Grandpa Jim/Poppy. It’s so fun to be around them. But somehow, I need to continue to love them and show them that love long-distance. There’s many books on grandparenting long-distance. I really haven’t read them though. I guess one thing I worry about is that they will forget who I am or what I am like….actually, I worry about who they are and what they are like!! Four of them are teen-agers and you know how much they change! Actually, they all are in the process of changing all the time. I miss seeing those changes…..I guess the most important thing I can communicate to my grandchildren is how much I love them….and how important they are to me. I need to start getting more creative to let them know!! Any ideas would be so welcome!!
Skype…that is what a friend of mine does to keep in touch with her grandkids. Google it, open an account and then you can do live video with them!
Mom,
This is your “favorite” daughter leaving you some advice. You know when I was little – let’s say around 11-13, I remember Grandma Dottie sending me letters when we moved to South Carolina. I still have those today and cherish them so much. Her words of wisdom still stick with me and I pass those words of advice down to my kids. Plus, it’s always fun getting actual snail mail!! The kids love that!
It will mean a lot to them to have letters from their Grandmother when they’re older. I write my Grandma now and love reading about what she’s doing with her garden and back and forth. It’s a timeless way to stay in touch. And, they can read them over and over again!!
Hello,
I just started a blog “Grandparenting from Afar” because I am new to this long-distance thing. My two grandkids (and only grandkids) just moved 12 hours away. Ooh…that hurts so much. I, like you, am trying to figure out how to make sure they don’t forget me and I stay important to them throughout their lives. I am all about family, so this is so hard. There just really isn’t anything more important than family to me…so I don’t get that all three of my children live out of town. I just don’t get it. Oh well..that is life. So be it. I love your daughter’s idea of hand-written letters. I’m going to do that. And I do have a webcam that I plan to use regularly (they just moved last week so haven’t used it yet). Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Anne
Ever since my two eldest daughters have been married, they have lived away from us. So I guess I am getting used to it, but as the grandkids get older, I feel a sense of urgency about my relationship with them. Thank you Anne, for your comments. I am going to visit your “Grandparenting from Afar” blog.