15 years ago
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Expected Visitor
Granny should be arriving tomorrow afternoon for a few weeks' visit. The girls' fourth birthday is coming up and Granny hasn't missed any of them so far. It is such a gift to have a parent who travels so readily to see her grandchildren. I barely knew either of my grandmothers because I only saw them for about a week each, during the annual car trip East. That changed a little when my dad's mother, Nana, moved to our little town for her final years and she became much better known to all of us children. Dave's grandparents lived across the road from him and he saw them every day. We knew we wanted our children to know their grandparents. Mom's frequent visits and Dave's Dad's close proximity allow for that. We are very grateful.
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2 comments:
The expected visitor is at the airport awaiting her departure.
All is well, except the rain here in Madison.
Since when did you moderate the comments? Did I miss somethin'?
Peggy :)
That is such a gift.
It is so important to nurture those ties, if circumstances and contexts and the nature of the families themselves permit.
There's a reason that I travel East each and every year, that I have been absolutely committed to doing so from the beginning,and for extended periods, regardless of any other considerations. It's a lasting gift--the most important kind--that I can give to my son, and also to the people who raised the child who became the man whom I married (and with whom I brought the son to life). And he is endlessly gifted by knowing those grandparents, a set of cousins, and an aunt who loves him beyond reckoning and who--though we are as different as two people can be, historically and in the present, and this not without certain tensions by virtue of that reality --I have without reservation designated as the person who will take, raise and love him fiercely should anything happen to us.
Believe me, it's not always easy. But ever and always, it is worth it.
It's a gift, a blessing--the kind that lasts, because it is built over time, with roots deeply embedded in stone. And I am even more deeply grateful.
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