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| Tony Caris with extended family, Roma, 1937 Three generations of the Caris family are standing on the front steps to the house. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
When I was a young kid, up to about eight years old, I had frequent contact with my grandparents, especially on my maternal side. My family didn't live in the same town as my grandparents did, so visiting them or having them visit us was not usually a spur of the moment occurrence. At various times we lived anywhere from two hundred to less than a hundred miles from them. Weekend visits were fairly common. I got to enjoy getting to know my grandparents and extended family fairly well during those first few years. Still, these were visits and not part of my everyday life.
Then we moved across the country and didn't see them for the next five years. When my family later moved to Northern Indiana and then East Tennessee, we were still a bit too far for much more than one or two visits per year. I was fortunate to have had at least some extended contact with my grandparents, but it was nothing like those who live nearby to theirs.
With my own children it was a bit different. They all had frequent visits with my parents as well as their mother's parents. There were times when we actually stayed with my parents for extended periods or lived near to them. Cheaper phone rates allowed my kids to have regular contact with the grandparents even when we were on the road or living at a distance. My children were even closer to their grandparents than I was with mine.
Now my children are across the country from me and I only get to see my grandchildren maybe twice a year if I'm lucky. We have the technological advantage of easy phone contact and visual computer chat. It's not the same as spending time with them and being able to hold them and hug them. Maybe eventually I'll be able to live closer to all of them. I hope so.
Currently I'm in New Jersey with my girls and their girls. The time has been going quickly. I'm thankful that we've been able to have the time we have had. These are special times that I hope one day will come more often.
If your children are grown, do you see them often? What about grandchildren--if you have any, are you able to spend much time with them? Did you enjoy a relationship with your own grandparents?
