Nana's Are Determined

Only Nana's understand. Tickets are booked...arrangements are made. And then...a phone call changes everything. Nana...my teacher just sent a note home and my Christmas recital is the day BEFORE you get here. Uh Oh...hello Air Canada...how much to change my ticket. Of course!! No way can I miss her 1st real school Christmas program. I think back to her Daddy and Auntie T and Uncle Johnny and all of their recitals and programs and I remember the excitement but mostly the busyness of trying to get it all in. It seems to have passed by in a blur...but that is the joy , the privilege, the difference of being a grandparent...no more busyness, no rushing, no more blurs...just absolute joy and total concentration...the only blip on the radar is the moment that brave little 5 yr old walks on the stage and sings her heart out with Christmas cheer. Every smile every fidget all frozen in time and branded in my mind, that amazing little creature is MY First Grandchild...who would have ever thought!!

Counting Down The Sleeps!

It was a difficult decision. I looked at all angles... worried and wondered which way should I go. Checking the internet several times a day. Finally a mid week sale at Air Canada made my decision for me. Ticket booked and counting down. Not exactly the perfect Christmas holiday. But I have decided perfection is overrated. If I had my dream of dreams I would live around the corner and be able to be a part of the normal day to day, not just the highlights and holidays...but I had to choose...(due to circumstances beyond my control)...do I go for the cookie making and the shopping and the recitals and the anticipation or be there for the arrival of the big guy in red and get to watch the wonder on their faces as they race down the stairs to see if HE really came. I ended up choosing the first..cooking making, shopping etc.....this is just a day in the life of a long distance grandparent. Its never easy...I always wonder...I try to be realistic. How many times a year can I go to see these little wonders? Should I be satisfied with two or three times a year? Do I focus on the milestones or the day to day magic...when in reality I want it all. There are times when I think its more important to know that they are loving hot oatmeal and yogurt for breakfast and are OFF the potatoes than being one in a crowd at a loud busy rambunctious pizza party celebrating their 2nd or 3rd birthday...I don't know....which one will they remember... I want to believe that our nightly phone calls for bedtime stories and lullaby's shorten the distance and erase they days that fall between the good-byes. But time is marching on...we've gone from Junie B Jones to Hannah Montana in a blink...from chubby cheeks and giggly garble to articulate complete sentences and from snuggly newborn to a sippy cup and fishie crackers...and that's just between the warm days of summer and the cool days of autumn. Imagine the magic that happens on a Tuesday at 10:00 in the morning...something that no one else's grandchild could possibly have done before...but I have to choose...I can focus on what I miss or I can count my blessings and be truly grateful for every minute that I get to share with these little miracles.

The Miles Seem Far Today

I'm feeling the miles today. It's been too long since I have kissed their cheeks, listened to their stories and been amazed by their sheer existence. These little creatures who have their little fingers wrapped completely around my heart. I have always thought that the best way to describe the love of a grandparent to a grandchild is like that first love at 16 yrs old...only it never changes or becomes normal or realistic...its always just pure joy. I go about my normal day, although now it doesn't involve a job to go to (which is both good and not so good) and look forward to that time of day when the phone rings and the little voice at the end of the line says with a sleepy voice "Nana can you sing me my songs" and I know for the next 10 minutes that Baby Beluga and Christopher Robin are going to transform my rambunctious little 2 yr old grandson from a busy little boy to a sleepy little angel. And again I am reminded of why I just love being a Nana. The phone is then handed off to the first little miracle of my "Nana Life" who gushes forth with the adventures of her day which now includes the road to upper education...kindergarten or as they call it in Canada "primary". Which actually works quite well into our nightly discussions and readings of Junie B Jones and all of her adventures. The newest little miracle is 7 months old and I just listen to her giggles as she plays with her brother and sister and wonder who she will be and what will she love and when will I know her. I ask myself everyday, how do I stand being thousands of miles away from these amazing additions to the human race...and thats when I know its time ...Air Canada here I come...credit card get ready to take another direct hit... I need a snuggle.

I am starting this blog for all those Nana's & Papa's, Grammies & Grandpa's and all other titles given to grandparents everywhere who are separated by time, distance, or continents from the new loves of their lives. Share ideas on how to stay connected, ups and downs of being far away, solutions to some of the problems connected to being a long distance grandparent. Tips on being involved even when you're working and retirement seems years away. Got the money but not the time syndrome...got the time and limited income syndrome.