Easter was especially memorable for John and me this year. We had all eight of our grandchildren (ranging from 5.5 months to 11 years old) with us the week after Easter Sunday. Between them and their parents who were able to make it into town, there were 15 of us eating meals together every day, and 10 of us scattered throughout the house sleeping each night. It was a joyous, boisterous, loud, happy week. And, as a bonus, we got an unexpected snowstorm which made for hours of fun playing outside for the kids who get almost no snow in their areas.
One of my favorite things (besides rocking the 5-month-old and holding him while he slept) was sitting back (make that, working in the kitchen or folding laundry) and watching and listening as everyone interacted with each other. Our children and grandchildren are so close that they are not only family but best friends.
Oh, my goodness, was it hard to say goodbye when each family went on their way. Three of our grandchildren live on the West Coast, so we hadn’t seen them since last summer. Lucky for us, we’re planning a field trip out there this summer, so we’ll get to see them in the not-too-distant future.
Two of the other grandbabies are 500+ miles from us, but that’s a trip we can make by car, so we’ve been fortunate to see them multiple times in the last seven months. Even so, I cried as they packed up— even more than our 3-year-old granddaughter did when she realized that she was leaving.
My question for John after the house was empty and we could finally hear each other again was, did we do too good of a job raising our kids? The four of them went to colleges in four different states, and basically were home only when school was on break. They’re confident, competent, and comfortable establishing roots in other areas of the country.
At one point after college all four of them were living out of state. At least we now have one family—and three grandchildren—living close by again. Which is not only a blessing to us, but a blessing to my parents (their great-grandparents) as well. We get to be involved in their day-to-day lives. Everything from attending school events, to babysitting, to having front-row seats at their sporting events, to attending Mass together most Sundays. It’s wonderful having them near for the holidays, long weekends, local festivals, and special events like First Communion.
Wrapping my arms around our middle daughter as she was getting ready to start her journey home, I could barely choke out the words, “This is what I get for doing everything in my power to be the best mom I could be. I have to deal with the sorrow of saying goodbye each time one of us is leaving to go home. Why do you have to be so nice? If you weren’t, this would be a lot easier.”
With John’s retirement this spring, we’re hoping to build more travel into our schedule. And you can be sure that travel’s going to include multiple trips to see our children, their spouses, and our beautiful grandchildren. As amazing as it would be to have all of us living together in the same area, that doesn’t look like it will ever happen (their in-laws enjoy having them right where they are).
As they say, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” I’m not sure if I can grow any fonder of our children or grandchildren, but I do know that I love each one of them wholeheartedly, and I treasure every moment we’re together. I’m counting down the days until we get to see each other again!