Saturday, July 16, 2011

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

10 comments:

  1. So true, it breaks the boundries and minimizes the distances! Great post!

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  2. Yup. This is true. My second grandson is due on July 27th. Can't wait.

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  3. That is what is good about facebook, cell phones, web-cams etc.

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  4. @ Claudia "It does make it seem like they are closer, when we Skype"...just wish I didn't remember the 'real' distance!

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  5. @ Thanks for stopping by...I hope your new grandchild is close by!

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  6. @ Anthony. Yes, technology can be as good as you make it to be. In our case things are great.

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  7. This is a really great post!! Makes you appreciate modern technology and the loneliness our ancestors must have felt.

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  8. Thanks Monica for checking out my post. Technology does come in handy these days. and, yes, it does leave you feeling bad about our ancestors.

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  9. Not only a benignity for far away grandchildren, I would miss so much of my families lives if it weren't for technology. I live so far from most of my family, but pictures, messages, and cell phones make them feel closer.

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  10. Yes, Spence. These are the good parts of our technology!! Thanks for stopping by!

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