Long Distance Grandmothers and Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am a long distance grandmother as I only see my grandchildren two or three times a year.  Sometimes I feel as if I am some kind of misfit when I mention that to a grandmother that lives in the same town or even the same neighborhood as their grandchildren.  That look they give me reminds me of the look I would get from stay-at-home moms when I was a working mom in the 70’s and 80’s. It is almost as if they do not know how to relate to me and sometimes I think they really feel sorry for me. It was very hard for me at first when I realized there were so many everyday things that I would miss.  However, I have accepted this situation and try to make the best of it.  I think a lot of that comes from the wisdom of being 69 years old.  If I whined or complained about the situation, it wouldn’t change a thing.

Our grandchildren came for a visit at Christmas and we had a good time with them.  I have a granddaughter that is five and a grandson that is 8.  We will probably not see them again until sometime next Summer.  We have a good relationship with our grandchildren as we send them packages for holidays when we aren’t together.  We usually Skype with them to watch them open their birthday gifts from us.

I wanted to share a grandmother recipe with you today.  So I tried to think of something I would like to make for my grandchildren if they lived down the street.  I chose this recipe from Miss Kay’s Duck Commander Kitchen for chocolate chip cookies.  Nothing smells any better than chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven and nothing tastes better than warm chocolate chip cookies. Miss Kay is a grandmother too and her children live close to her so I am sure she has made these cookies many times for them.

I would be thrilled if my circumstances would change and our grandchildren would be nearby.  That isn’t the way things are now and I enjoy watching them grow up from a distance.  Last summer they went on vacation and decided on their on to buy little mementos for me and Mr. D.  And at Christmas my daughter told me she made deviled eggs for Thanksgiving and when my grandson tasted them he said he knew who made the best deviled eggs.  She asked him who was that and he said Grandma.  That made this Grandma very happy.

I am thankful that I have two grandchildren and they live in the US.  My grandson lived in Africa the first two years of his life and my granddaughter was born in France.  However, now I think they will stay stateside so you can see that I am pleased they are somewhere in the USA.  I think being a long distance grandmother helps me to see my grandchildren more objectively.  They are typical normal kids and I try not to put them on a pedestal and I don’t share pictures of them all the time.

However, I do believe pictures are worth a thousand words and here are some pictures of our grandchildren from their last visit. Mr. D got a selfie stick for Christmas and we had fun taking pictures with it.

Before I post this, I want to say my heart goes out to grandmothers and Grandfathers everywhere that for any number of circumstances are raising their grandchildren.  I see examples of that everyday and I see Grands that have postponed retirement and many other luxuries of retirement because of that responsibility.  They are truly dedicated and wonderful Grands.

Thanks for stopping by.