Where is the rule book on long distance grand parenting? My friends tell me that one of the joys of grand parenting is in spoiling your grandchildren and then sending them back home; but what if home is 2000 miles away? My daughter and her husband live in Texas, and we reside in California; quite a distance.
It has always been my desire to move back home near S.C. I can’t tell you the number of times that I thought about it and verbalized that wish to my husband. I grew up in a close knit family where my grandparents lived across the track; my aunts and uncles lived around the corner; and everyone else was a stone throw away. Family get-togethers were the order of the day. When my grandparents were alive, we would all come together under one roof to eat, laugh, listen to stories and learn lessons from their good-old days. I wanted the same for my children.
There is something about the “first” grandchild. They tell me the feeling is indescribable. Our daughter Niya spent summers with my parents and it was clear that all of our vacation time would be spent in S.C; the place where I was born. My husband’s parents died before he graduated from high school.
My daughter has countless stories about her Granddad and how he filled her pockets with coins and the fridge with hugs fruit drinks. She talks about the time he taught her how to boiled peanuts and make macaroni and cheese. She and her Grandmother lived at the ‘Family Dollar’ store. If they weren’t there, you could find them making their rounds at a nursing home. There is something about the “first” grandchild.
My one regret is that our boys didn’t have that same kind of one-on-one with my Dad and Mom that Niya received. My Dad was a man of few words but when he talked, he made a heap of sense. My sons have their favorite “Grandpa and Grandma” stories but I can only imagine how much more developed they would be if it were not for the long distance.
How does one resolve the issue of grand parenting from afar? For me, the answer is “Deep in the heart of Texas.”
Bus driver, move that bus!
INVENTING DARLA 
Comments
Move That Bus! Move that Bus!!!!! Move That Bus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It’ll definitely work out…He will give you the desires of your heart!
Yes, having grands long distance in a task at times.We have one in Arizona and one in Washington, DC. The other two are here in Columbia. We just try to see the long distance grands as much as possible. Even with the distance they still love their Mema and Granddaddy. We just spoil and love them, but with discipline. Make sure you get a web camera for your computer. (smile).