Pulled This Way and That

I am an absentee GrandMary. Well, "absentee" is not the right word; I am a long-distance GrandMary. That's not so unusual. Many grandparents and grandchildren live in different places, separated by miles and mountains and rivers, skyscrapers and strip malls. It's a hard thing.  Even with phone calls, digital pictures coming through email, and Skype, I'm not there to lend another pair of hands, arms, and eyes when needed, or to take advantage of opportunities to attend fall festivals, church events, or a restaurant meal with the family.

I have a job I love in New York City - 850 miles from Atlanta and GrandBoy. Jobs of any kind are hard to come by in this economy, especially for someone my age. Just quitting and heading home is not a viable option. Pulling up stakes and heading home would involve all sorts of chaos in all sorts of ways. But I have to weigh that reality with the tug on my heartstrings.

Because I'm so far away, I'm missing family time that I can't get back. Well, boo-hoo. That's true for most people. For whatever reasons, folks who love each other live apart. Fact of life. And face it. Even if I moved back to Atlanta, I'm not sure how that would work, day in, day out, anyway.

Comes with the territory, I reckon. Things are they way they are. Period. I love my job. I love New York. I love Kate and Greg and Liam. I love Atlanta. I suspect it's going to get harder as time goes by, and sooner of later I will want to figure out a way to get back home. But for now I'll have to make do with Skype and email and LGA/ATL plane trips. Ah, me.