Nine hours and counting. My wife and I are driving out of state to visit my grandparents. They don’t like to travel anymore, and they haven’t gotten to see my wife during the pregnancy yet. This will be their only chance. This is why family living out of state is so annoying.
Sure, some of you will say that it’s the greatest blessing you’ve encountered thus far. Well, I was the black sheep and I got over it. I have wanted to be near my family for years now. First off, I want the instant community that family brings. I want my family to stop by unannounced on occasion and bring by things we need or offer to babysit or even need to talk about something. I want to have Friday night Shabbat dinners (no, I’m not Jewish - I just love Shabbat dinners) with my whole family and one or two friends.
Second, I don’t like road trips. Flying is okay, but expensive. Driving four hours or more to see family is ludicrous. That distance dictates how often I can afford to see someone, which means that they are automatically less involved in my life. This bothers me more than I can say.
I love my grandparents. Visiting them when I was a child was always an adventure. They had so many cool things to discover in their house and backyard. I loved being there. Maybe it wouldn’t have been so special if we had lived closer and visited more often. At the same time, maybe I would have stronger relationships with them and many more memories of good times.
I’m venting. Essentially, my wife and I talked my parents and sister to move back here from out of state. We knew we wanted to have a baby soon, and we wanted as much support as we could get. My family is very good at support, so I think we’ll be great. Between them and my mother-in-law, we’ll probably be rather spoiled.
What a relief to have my family here. The only ones left are my grandparents and my uncle. The uncle will not likely move down here unless he gets a better paying job. The grandparents have essentially told us that they won’t move here because they wouldn’t have any friends nearby and they don’t expect we would spend much time with them. Ouch. Granted, I wouldn’t see them every day, but I would see them every week. That’s a heck of a lot better than twice a year.
Still, they say they won’t move. So it’s time to pack up. Time for a road trip.
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