My sister was here for a week.
And that was most wonderful, we are very close but live far apart, and we had not been together in person since 2019. She had not been here for 9 years,. You might know how such years in between just melt away the instant you hug each other.
I do not know how it is going to be grandma of a far away grandchild. Yes! I am hoping to become a grandma in July! My son and his girlfriend live in Pemberton BC a 2500 km from here.
I as a young adult moved away from my family in Holland and my son never came back for good after college. In the pandemic i felt strongly, that people should consider when moving far away from loved ones. Like do not come crying when it suddenly turns out the distance is too great to overcome.
But also i always felt, that not much is needed to keep a loving relationship/ a strong bond. Back in the days i did keep in close contact with family, which for me back then meant letter writing, probably a few letters a week to various people on airmail thin rice paper, those blue sheets that also served as the envelope. I think i phoned once a month with my parents.
I never was one for missing people much, no hard feelings sis, i am happy when you are here, but I do not miss you.
My son a bit maybe, the upcoming grand child, we will have to see, how much i long to be close. I already experienced emotion of joy that i did not know i had in me, just for the fact that they are pregnant.
All that to say i do not want to travel too much too far. I think we could help Mother Nature a lot by staying closer to home; walk over to the neighbours, to have physical contacts.
So yes the discussion i had with my sister. She feels because she flies IPB she does not affect the environment in a negative way, because that seat would be empty. (she works for an airline and flies for cheap taking a stand-by seat) I disagree with her.
To me to fly is an assault on the environment. Any airplane spews a lot of CO2 in the air. Airports take up space, which used to be maybe beautiful meadows. And on and on. And to be in the airplane to me you are equally responsible no matter what seat you take/ what price you pay. I took her to the airport and we bought coffee in a paper cup, she a frequent flyer; Tilly where was your travel mug!?
One more note, due to the stand-by reality she spend 35 hours extra travelling. I should have let her walk to and from the airport, that would have taken a very fit person 35 hours.
6 comments:
You will have a great new experience as a grandmother, and these times, it is so easy to be connected. Don't worry, it can all work out!
Our grandchild, now 4 years old, lives literally on the other side of the planet from us. As a family, we are quite used to living all over the world with other close relatives currently working and living on three continents, one even on a research vessel in the South Atlantic. Our daughter has lived with us on three continents since she was small and has been studying/working in many far away countries before she settled in New Zealand - for now. So, we are all experienced in keeping in touch through whatever means are available and we use all sorts of social media channels to message, talk with and "see" each other several times a week, sometimes twice a day.
We travelled to be there for the grandchild's birth and stayed for six weeks, holding and rocking the baby, cooking, baking, doing laundry, looking after the garden and the chickens and so on. Several months later, they came to visit us and the European family for three months. Then covid meant that we could not meet in person for almost four years and we found ways to read and sing to the grandchild, to play puppet theater, show each homes and gardens and sometimes just leaving the phone/video on while playing, cooking or eating breakfast. That way, we remained familiar with each other. Last Nov/Dec when we spent another two months with them, this time teaching the grandchild to ride a bicycle, discover rock pools in the Pacific Ocean and bake bread together. If all goes to plan, they will come to spend three/four months with us in Europe later in the year. Their New Zealand employers enable mobile office work from anywhere.
A lot of flying, yes. But we try to offset this by cutting out fossil fuels as much as possible elsewhere, heating the house via solar and wood only, collecting rainwater, cycling, growing most of our own food and no other travel - apart from cycling or public transport - unless there is a family emergency. My daughter and her family are likewise living a very sustainable lifestyle. It's a compromise for now.
There are vague plans of us maybe emigrating or them coming back to Europe, we will see what the future brings.
yes, awareness and from there making choices. Thanks Sabine
That's nice that you had a weeklong visit with your sister, even if it meant she had to fly to visit you. And that must be exciting to know that you will be a grandmother soon! Congratulations!
Thank you Bless!
❤
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