"Why do you have to go home, Gramma?"
It's a question I ask myself every visit.
My life is in Arizona. My heart is in Indiana.
It's hard to leave my daughter, but I assuage my sorrow with daily phone calls. The little ones, though...... it's a different story entirely. FaceTime is wonderful, but it's not a tactile experience... and the touching is what makes the visiting so special.
Giblet lets me blow raspberries on his neck, giggles, then presents his other side for ore of the same.
FlapJilly wraps her arms around my neck So Tight, refusing to let go.
I can share mac and cheese with them, bite for bite. I can wipe his runny nose and twirl her curly hair. I can change diapers and tickle the softest belly in the land. I can point to the sight words on her First Nine Weeks Quick Guide and laugh as she declares that MY spells GRAMMA.
My life is in Arizona. My heart is in Indiana.
"Why do you have to go home, Gramma?" becomes harder and harder to answer.
Too bad they aren't able to move to Tucson. One thing about relocating for family is sometimes they then move and you aren't able to go also. As the kids get older, they are less interested in being with grandparents (years off for you). Maybe longer trips when you do go is the answer.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to Spring Break at Gramma's House.... even if I have to travel up and back to transport the campers :-) Soon they'll be old enough to leave Mom and Dad behind. Til then, we're the travelers.
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They will love it when they can come to the place of sunshine and swimming pools :)
ReplyDeleteFlapJilly is planning to jump in the minute she gets here!
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I'm in the same situation as you, with grandchildren halfway across the country. You're right; FaceTime is a poor substitute for the real thing.
ReplyDeleteAnd yet, without it, we'd be lost.
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