On Being A Grandma, A Series- July 17, 2011

 Back in 1911, if a daughter or son moved to the other side of the country, then you may have expected to never actually see her or him or their children again. It must have been a very sad day for a Grandma then.

My grandmother with my uncle as a baby. He moved to the other side of the country. So, she didn't get to see those grandchildren often.

Then came 1991! You have a daughter or son that move to the other side of the country.  You might be able to keep in touch with phone calls, if you had the right long distance plan and lots of money to pay for it. Then there were always letters. If you were lucky enough to have a son or daughter to take lots of photos and send them back home, you got to track the growth of your grandchildren. They rarely actually met you. 

My mother-in-law, with all her grandchildren, who lived within driving distance, at the time.

Then, if you were really well off, one or the other would fly to visit or might be able to drive across country when the weather permitted. This usually didn’t happen very often, and involved a lot of arranging and cost to the one who travelled. But as a Grandma, you were grateful for each and every contact with your grandchildren.

Visiting with our daughter, Krista and baby Bella in Alberta in December.

Then came 2011!! We have a daughter who lives in Northern, Alberta who has a 10 month old daughter. I’ve been lucky enough to have actually seen her twice so far, in person. Once when she was only 2 months old and when they flew home for Easter in April.

Now we get to see her in photographs, posted on facebook and live on Skype. And through the grace of ‘air miles’, we actually get to visit back and forth.

Krista & Bella at a local play park's splash pond in Alberta (via facebook)

Gotta love, facebook, Skype and air miles in 2011!!!

Kathy