Long-distance Gran

When my daughter called to say she had been sent from her doctor's appointment to the hospital 3 weeks early, I was making a presentation to the school board. When she told me labor was to be induced the next day because of her high blood pressure, I packed a suitcase and left the next morning to drive to the hospital - 13 hours away. Jack was born on November 15, and I stayed to help Elizabeth through Thanksgiving, when my husband flew up, and we drove back together that weekend.

We went back just before New Year's, then again in April, for Easter weekend. Elizabeth and Jack flew down for a visit in June, then we went to Rochester for Jack's baptism in July. Elizabeth, Jack, and Mason made a surprise visit to us in August, and then we didn't see them again until December. Elizabeth and Jack flew down on the 22nd, and Mason joined us on the 26th. So, in the first year of Jack's life we had a total of 6 visits, from 3 days to about a week each time.

Now there's another baby on the way, and how I wish we lived close enough for me to stop by on my way home from work and pick up Jack to give Elizabeth a few hours of rest time. Or close enough to drive over on a Saturday and take him to the park. But the reality is, that's never going to happen. Jack's daddy is in the Marine Corps, and he's never going to be stationed in Murfreesboro, or even within a couple of hours' driving distance from here.

So, the challenge is building a relationship with a child who lives so far away. Children learn to know and trust and love the people they see every day. One day when Jack is old enough, he will understand that his grandparents are people who love him, even though he doesn't see them every day. Until then, I just have to make as many opportunities as possible to see him and talk to him, and do what I can to help Elizabeth from here.