It's All Relative

When Gary and I moved to Arizona -- far, far away from any of our family members -- we were DINKs (dual income, no kids).  We were carefree.  We were independent.  We had disposable income.  You know the expression "it takes a village"?  Well, we didn't need a village.  Just a few friends, frequent dinner reservations, and a phone to keep in touch with our families.

What we failed to appreciate at the time was how the arrival of children in our lives would so dramatically change things. Turns out, those pesky little punks need to be supervised and cared for at all times.  Who knew?  When Julie had various colds and coughs and couldn't go to pre-school for a day or a week, when Daniel had colic for approximately 2 years, when Gary and I both had business trips scheduled at the same time, we found ourselves wondering how in the world we found ourselves so far away from the most important villagers of all, our families.  Because it also turns out that grandma can't babysit by phone.

More importantly, though, I often regret that we moved so far from our families because the kids (and us parents) do not get to see our relatives frequently.  So, we do try to at least visit as frequently as we can, as we did on Fall Break last week when we visited Vancouver.

Our kids always love such visits because they have some pretty terrific relatives.  Take, for instance, Grandma Elsie.  Grandma Elsie was a school teacher and she has that gift that some teachers have of sneakily teaching the kids something while they're having fun.  For instance, while we were on Vancouver Island, Grandma Elsie brought along the game Vancouver Islandopoly to the hotel where we were staying.
  In addition to learning about Vancouver Island, we learned about money and banking. This young gentleman was our banker.  I have to say that he was a really, really good banker who tried to slip a little extra money to his mom when she was short on cash:

We learned about buying property, mortgaging property and wheeling and dealing.  Auntie Kim was a particularly good wheeler/dealer:

We learned about risk vs. reward.  This young lady was very risk averse and enjoyed stock-piling cash:

We learned about each others' hidden aptitudes and talents, like Grandma Elsie's wicked Ninja moves. 

In the end, though, we mainly learned that even though our "village" is spread over a wide territory, it's still there supporting us and helping to care for our children.  That's what family is all about.

Comments

[Darcy]

we're the same way....wishing that family was closer, but enjoying those times that we are together, and making the most of those phone calls!

[Denise]

I haven't been near family in about 20 years. Ack! I can't believe it's been that long. I have children that are 9 and 6. We are in upstate NY now and one grandparent (my mother) is in Phoenix, AZ, while my husband's father is in Vermont. We are forunate to get to see their grandfather a few times a year but haven't seen my mother in a few years. It's hard when you see friends who have family to rely on for those last minute appointments. But I have learned that without the extended family around, our small family has become closer and a lot more bonded because we really do rely on each other.