Fare thee well

Last evening, PawDad and I had a farewell chit-chat on the trampoline with Bubby and Mac.

This morning, we're on our way home.

Farewell to thee, farewell to thee
Thou charming one who dwells in shaded bowers
One fond embrace ere I depart
Until we meet again.
      ~Queen Lydia Kamakaeha Lili’uokalani

Today's fill-in-the-blank:

I recently bid farewell to _________.

Love, Gramma—snail-mail style

When Bubby was a little over two years old, I made him a nifty mail box for receiving snail mail from Gramma. I wrote a post on it, which you can see right here.

So you don't have to click on that link just yet, here's the photo of that original stickered-up sensation:

Bubby loved emergency vehicles of all sorts at the time, so that's how I adorned his box. The mini mailbox also included his name in stickered letters, but as I don't use his real name (nor Mac's) on the blog, I couldn't show how perfectly his name in red block letters fit across one side.

I've not been as consistent in my snail-mail sending as I intended, but each time I did, I'd ask Megan to place it in Bubby's box and raise the flag so he'd know mail from Gramma had arrived. More often than actual snail mail, though, I'd place a little something in the mailbox for Bubby to find each time I left his house after a visit, notification of such courtesy the little red flag.

Last time I visited Bubby, I noticed as we lay on his bed reading his bedtime story that his mailbox was up on a shelf he surely couldn't reach. "I broke it," he told me, when I asked why it was way up there.

Seems Bubby loved his grandma-mail box so much, he used it as a garage for his Matchbox cars. It was used so often and filled so to the brim that it ended up dented beyond repair and no longer has an attached back.

"I'll just have to make you new one," I told him, knowing I still had several empty boxes remaining at home (reference the original post for why that is).

"And I really need super heroes on this one, Gramma," he said.

Well, super heroes it would be, then.

As I had planned to make a grandma-mail box for Mac anyway—his first—I went ahead and made a new one for Bubby, too.

Per his request, Bubby got super heroes of various sizes and styles. Super heroes are his favorite thing in the world right now, especially Batman and Spiderman.

Mac's favorite things? Well, those would have to be Mickey Mouse and dinosaurs, so that's what adorns his little grandma-mail box (more dinos than Mickeys, but that's okay).

Just like Bubby's original grandma-mail box, the boys' names are featured in red block letters on one side of their box. Though just like with the original mail box, I can't show you that side as it would reveal the real names of my grandsons (and heaven only knows what might happen if I were to reveal that information online, right?).

I can show you this, though—the censored versions of my latest grandma-mail boxes for my boys, packed and ready to tote in my Grandma Bag to the desert this Friday:

Now Bubby will have two grandma-mail boxes. Which will surely please him, as they make not only super spots for snail-mail love notes from Gramma, they make pretty darn good garages, too.

Drive-thru garages, from what I gather.

Today's question:

When did you last mail a child a letter or other snail-mail sentiment?

Photo replay: Brothers — Live!

In less than a week I get to see these brothers, live and in person!

Today's question:

Who are you most excited to see in the coming week?

Long-distance grandparenting: Eight ways it gets easier as grandkids get older

I've been a long-distance grandma from the moment I became a grandma at all. So I have no idea what it's like to have my grandsons nearby. I know only what it's like to have them living more than 800 miles away, to miss them far more often than not.

I do know, though, that it's getting easier to be a long-distance grandma. Partially because I've just accepted that my daughter, son-in-law, and grandsons won't be moving any closer any time soon, if ever. More so, though, it's because my oldest grandson is getting older, and my youngest grandson is not far behind him.

With no more baby grandchildren right now, I do miss the idea of not having a little baby to hold in my arms. Thing is, with the distance between us, it always was more of exactly that—an idea, for the reality was that I was able to hold my grandbabies in my arms so rarely.

Now that my grandsons are getting older, though, my long-distance grandparenting is getting easier, for several reasons.

Older grandkids ... remember you. With the little ones, the first few minutes of contact, whether on the phone, Skype, or in person, are spent saying, "Hey, baby! It's Gramma! Remember Gramma?!" That's no longer required, thankfully. They remember me.

Older grandkids ... pay attention and actually converse with you.On Skype, via FaceTime (if you're fortunate enough to have it), and in person (when you're really fortunate). At least for a few minutes.

Older grandkids ... get it—and appreciate it, look forward to it—when you send them letters, packages, cards, mail of any sort.

Older grandkids ... can and often do send mail back.

Older grandkids ... can say, "Mom I want to talk to Gramma" when you're on the phone with their mother. And when handed the phone, they talk, not just press buttons and unintentionally hang up on you.

Older grandkids ... will eventually have their own phone to call Gramma unassisted by Mom or Dad.

Older grandkids ... also will eventually—sooner than I think, I'm sure—be able to travel unaccompanied for special solo stays at Gramma's. (If, that is, Gramma and Mommy are brave enough to allow such unaccompanied travel.)

Older grandkids ... hug you back. Reciprocal hugs last far longer in one's memory than one-sided hugs. In Gramma's memory and in theirs.

I remember cradling my grandsons in my arms when they were babies, rocking them and snuggling their delicious little heads into my neck as I held their blanket-bundled bodies close to my heart. I delighted in that when I had the honor of being with them, missed it beyond compare when without them.

Those moments of physically holding my baby grandsons close to my heart were too few and too far between. Now that they're older, the physical moments together are still too few and too far between, yet the non-physical methods of holding my big-boy grandsons close to my heart—and me to theirs—are, thankfully, increasing.

Which makes this long-distance grandparenting gig a wee bit easier to bear. It may not be my preferred grandparenting scenario, to be sure, but it works. For me. For us. For now.

Photos of the boys in their plaid shirts are by Alison Baum.

Today's question:

What delights you about the kids you love getting older?

Oh, how they grow

When I visited my grandsons last weekend, it had been only two months since I'd last seen them. We all know, though, how quickly kiddos change and grow, so in those two short months Bubby and Mac changed and grew in myriad ways.

Here are just a few:

Mac no longer sits in a high chair or needs help going up and down the (carpeted) stairs.

Bubby says things such as, "Gramma, you don't need to worry about me because I know how to use scissors now" when doing crafts and, "I'm going to build a contraption" when explaining how he plans to proceed with his play.

Mac says big words, too, at least for a 14-month-old. Words such as bubble and book, uh-oh and down, Mama and more.

Bubby no longer calls out from the bathroom, "I'm done...!" and can now wipe himself.

Mac no longer eats crayons—most of the time—and can now color with his brother.

Bubby has figured out how to do cartwheels on the trampoline.

Mac has figured out how to lie on his tummy in the bathtub—something he refused to even attempt until this past Saturday night.

Bubby has also figured out how to flatter the ladies—especially Mommy—recently delivering this perfect line after she kissed him goodnight: "Mommy, sometimes your kisses are better than snacks."

Oh, how they grow.

One thing Mac and Bubby haven't outrown, though, is loving on and posing for pictures with Gramma.

Oh, how I hope they never do.

Today's question:

In what ways have you recently noticed that your grandkids or kids have grown?