Waiting Still...

Back in December of 2012 my friend, Carissa, invited me to be her guest blogger. She published the following in February of this year: http://carissawoodwyk.wordpress.com/2013/02/26/a-grandma-in-waiting/

I was waiting…wondering….

Cora Mae was born on April 11 and I had to wait a full three weeks before I got to meet her. These weeks were full of longing.

The planned visit couldn’t come soon enough. There was so much anticipation. Thankfully, telephone calls and IPhone images captured and posted to my INBOX soothed the waiting time.
Finally – the day arrived when I could fly out and meet the precious darling.

 

Now, here I am - home for two weeks already after having had an amazing three weeks bonding with my new grandbaby. Cora Mae is 8 weeks old now – one can see that time is flying by!  Meanwhile, I’ve been assured and reassured that this long distance factor is not as big a deal as I had feared. Hmmmm – note to self – not… as I had feared. Here is new and exciting territory to be learned and navigated.  A new relationship is forming. One cannot dictate how the dynamics of this bond will play out over the years. I’m in a time of waiting – a time of incubation.The one thing I know I can do is show up with loving intention –whatever that will look like.

As another grandma congratulated me on my new role she had this to say about long-distance grand parenting – 

[I think this] opens up a whole new opportunity for creative communication. I send lots of little    packages, for no reason except to say "Grandma loves you!" I write her letters (even if she can't read), I read her books on Skype and do show and tell. They do come back [home] every summer, so we do get some face-to-face time. And most of all, I pray for her every day, and that increases the "grandma-love" more than anything.  I responded by saying: thanks for sharing my joy and sharing from your years of experience. Your words are taken as a storehouse of encouragement for the times of separation.

One of my favorite authors, who herself is a grandma brought encouragement as she shared from her experience of separation. In her book, Some Assembly Required, (which I think should be required reading for any and all grandmothers! See link below*) Ann Lamott suggests that “our love for each other (that of Anne & her grandson) is indelible, and not based on proximity.”

Indelible defined:  making marks that cannot be erased, removed… eliminated, forgotten, changed, or the like.

While I’m still waiting and wondering how this will all play out…. At this point in time I know my life has been indelibly changed now that I am a grandmother. Period. The long distance factor is inconsequential.

*http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_9?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=some+assembly+required&sprefix=some+asse%2Caps%2C259