Connections

Grand #4 and Grand #6 live 1500+ miles away. I miss them all the time! Fortunately, when Grand #4 was born, my daughter-in-law created a 'Photocircle' on which everyone shares photos and videos of these Grands. As such, we've been able to see her growth and milestones. And now, we get to see her brother's as well.

Over these past few months, we have thoroughly enjoyed watching the relationship between these Grands evolve. They are only 17 months apart in age, which has proven to be challenging for Mom and Dad, but absolutely tender and adorable between them.

Grand #4 loved him since day 1--asking about him when he was still asleep, giving him toys when he was cried, being present for any 'special' thing Mom or Dad did for him. She would try to do whatever Mom or Dad did for her brother with her own baby doll.

Grand #6 knows that life means his big sister is constantly present. He seemed to always be able to track movement because he loved watching her. He is old enough now to get very animated when she is present. And she has noticed! She (still) brings him toys. She pushes him in the baby swing on their swing set. She will do "peek-a-boo" at him. She is still young enough to have to think about how to get her hands to cover her eyes! But he giggles! Oh, how he giggles!! He loves every bit of attention she gives him.

Through the videos, we've seen her protective side. Mom and Dad got a video of them on a swinging chair. She had her little toddler arms wrapped around his 20 lbs the best she could as the swing gently swayed. He got excited as the swing approached Mom and he jerked backwards as babies do. Grand #4 never lost her hold on him! She looked a bit frazzled by his movements, especially considering they are close to the same size! But she held on tight!

I think about when my boys were at this stage of life. Most of my kids were close in age also. We also lived over a thousand miles away from their Grandparents. Our only options for keeping connected were long-distance calls and the postal service. We would take pictures with our film cameras and then print double copies of everything. We'd keep some, then mail the rest to the various grandparents. They rarely heard our boys' voices despite our weekly calls (after 9pm on weekends so the calls were free).

I think about how much our parents missed with our boys. I feel very grateful that, despite the miles, we know our Grands that live so far away. And we have more and better options for helping them get to know us. We do regular video calls and use the Marco Polo app to send video messages to our distant Grands in addition to phone calls and the postal service.

The payment for making the effort it takes to use these many resources to develop our relationship with our Grands is worth more than anything else. The value of those efforts is evident when we find those rare moments when we can get together in person. The smiles of recognition and the immediate hugs tell us that our Grands know we love them, no matter how far away we all live.