Driving into work this morning, I got to thinking just how lucky Natalie really is. I mean, I think about it all the time, but having just dropped her with her Nana Cyd, it really struck me, both how lucky she is, and how lucky I am as well.
When I was a little girl, I got to see my Grandparents fairly often - at least once every few months. My maternal grandparents came down to PA from New Jersey quite often, and we also visited them a good bit as well. My Pop Pop owned a stationary store in New York City, right by the UN, and we used to go into Manhattan pretty frequently as a result. My Dad's parents didn't travel to us as much, but we at least saw them around Thanksgiving, Christmas, and usually once or twice throughout the rest of the year.
Natalie is so very lucky. She gets to see both sets of grandparents weekly. Sometimes multiple times in one week. She is forging such a strong relationship with them, especially her Nanas, who each care for her 1-2 days a week. With our parents living relatively close to one another, it's easy to share holidays (for the most part) and split time between both sets. They adore their granddaughter and it shows in every which way. They are SO generous and giving, in both good times and bad, and have been amazingly helpful to us in so many ways. They would do anything for us, and for their precious granddaughter.
We spend so many of our formative years resenting our parents - or at least being angry because we don't want to admit they are right. I'm so glad that I finally came around and realized just how brilliant my parents are and how right they always were. I am just as lucky as Natalie, to have been blessed with such incredible role models, who have clearly shaped me into the person I've become today. I will never be as good as them, but I'm always striving to get as close as I can. If there is one thing I can look back and regret, it's not having had a chance to spend as much time with my grandparents, both sets. I know it was a matter of distance and nothing more, but having lost 3 out of my 4 grandparents before I even graduated from high school... I just wish I'd had more opportunities with them, especially now seeing how nice it is for Natalie to spend so much time with hers.
All four of her grandparents have told me what a blessing she is, and how amazing it is to be a grandparent. I am convinced Natalie has added years to my dad's life. All my mother-in-law ever wanted was a little girl (and yet she ended up with two strapping sons), and so now she's reliving her child-rearing days with Natalie and cherishing every second. When we need a babysitter, we have to figure out "whose turn" it is, so as to keep things even, because everyone always wants Natalie. It's a lovely problem to have! Natalie has absolutely no idea just how very loved she is, but God willing will grow up having a wonderfully close relationship with her Nana Cyd, Grandpa Doug, Nana Lin, and Grandad Pete!
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