Richard Dinges
I’m like you. I miss my grandchildren. The two of them. Girls, both. Grades four and one. Big problem: they live near Seattle. And again, like you, my wife and I can’t just drive up to see them. For this 81–year-old granddad flying is a frightening event, especially just the thought of SeaTac airport. So, they are there and we are here. We are “Long Distance SaddleBrooke Grandparents.”
But we’re not alone. An AARP Grandparents Today study revealed there are about 65 million U.S. grandparents, more than half having at least one grandchild living more than 200 miles away.
Not being in the lives of our grandchildren stresses the connection between generations. We are not present to help out when mother and grand baby first arrive home, don’t eyewitness baby’s first steps or see her first tooth break through her lower gum.
What happened to cause all this family separation? It’s the triple D’s—Dollars, Day Care, and Distance.
Because home ownership is so expensive, both parents are required to work and place their children in expensive day care. In many cases, families must relocate to where the money is, requiring that our grandchildren become institutionalized eight to ten hours a day, making formerly routine family connections seemingly impossible to make or maintain.
But when connections are impeded because younger children need adult digital assistance requiring coordination with busy and stressed parents. Even written correspondence requires parental help.
Because air travel is so expensive, the purchase of multiple airline tickets for family visits may be out of the question.
And SaddleBrooke grandparenting becomes a long distance challenge, as we grandparents have made our way to the desert for reasons of health, climate, affordability, and safety.
So what can we do?
I’ve researched resources that can provide you with ideas and ways to initiate and maintain very productive communication and meaningful relationships with your grandchildren who live many miles away. Some resources I find helpful include: AARP, thelongdistancegrandparent.com, grandkidsmatter.org, and Good Housekeeping.
So I finish now with my best wishes to you as you pursue your long distance grandparenting journey.