No Rewind Button

 

I'm home again after a great week visiting our Texans and to be honest I'm tired, more from the two hour time difference plus time change this past weekend than from the actual time away. But at the same time I have been thinking a lot this morning(while attempting to get my work done) about being a grandmother(aka Mimi or Nana depending on which grands we are visiting). 

Several years ago when the grandbabies started arriving, I remember sitting down with Dave and talking about the kind of relationships that we hoped to have with our grandchildren. With two out of the three families living far away, we knew that we would need to be very intentional about building these relationships. Phone calls, Skype and FaceTime are wonderful, but they don't make up for the times of hugging, giggling and just playing together in person.

And so we talked and planned ..... how many times per year we would like to see the 'far aways', and how often we wanted to structure and make time for the boys that lived here in town. And so we did just that! We saved points and vacation time to fly to Texas or drive up north. Dave took the boys out to Tim Horton's every Saturday morning when he was in town for donuts....and what great memories they made. Sunday dinners were a time to catch up and play games together.

And then this fall came.....and now not only were both Aidan and Jaxon in school full days, but Aidan is playing Soccer on Saturday mornings. No more "Mimi Mondays" for Jaxon and I. No more Tim Hortons for donuts with Pa for Aidan. I had already been reflecting on the changing times.

But then I got to Texas, and now Caily was also in school all day! I missed her! Oh I had a great time with the other girls and little Colson, but the hours with Caily were much shorter. I noticed that I didn't have as many pictures of her on my phone.  I did make a point of taking these two in her school uniform because she just looked so grown up! And I looked forward to catching up when she got home from school, but as most parents know, that isn't necessarily the best time to talk! She was tired!
 

But in the midst of it all, I couldn't help but be thankful for all the visits that had gone before. The weeks spent in Texas in every season of the year. The memories made that still carry on....like manicures and pedicures, putting on lip gloss and checking out my jewellry pouch. And the incredible hugs when we said goodbye....they didn't want to let go!!

We could have paid off more debt or visited a lot more exotic places but I don't regret a single trip to visit our faraways or a Sunday lunch with the nears. Because there is no rewind button!!  And I am so thankful that I have no regrets!!

And I can hardly wait for Christmas...because for the first time in two years we will all be together under one roof!! Oh the noise, the chaos, the kids everywhere.......and the most amazing memories!!