Out of Touch Grandma!
This is not out of choice. My grandchildren and yes there are now two EV and August. They live in San Antonio, Texas and I live in Whitby, Canada. Many miles separate us. I would love to live around the corner so I could see their beautiful happy faces daily. Our choices in life separate families. I am not the only grandparent suffering out there. My daughter Nadia married an American whom when she met when worked in Toronto. His employment took him to San Antonio. He is a NBA player who formally played for the Toronto Raptors but has been playing now for the San Antonio Spurs for the past several years. He hails from New Hampshire so even off season their time off is split between his home state and Toronto, my daughter's birth place.
Matt Bonner's parents live in New Hampshire so his parents have the privilege of seeing their grandchildren when the Bonner family are living in their Mountain Home. Some time is also spent up in Toronto visiting the Canadian friends and family off season. There would be more reason for Matt and family to spend time up here if the Canadians had offered him a place on the Canadian National Basketball team so he could have represented Canada in the last Olympics. It is not like we are overflowing with qualified talented people to help build a team. Every year it is getting better and Canada is producing more talent but this same talent is forced to move to the USA for opporturtunies for their future in sports.
Matt played for some time for the Toronto Raptors but even before he was picked for the team he lived in Toronto and practiced with the team. He spends part of his off season here annually. Matt Bonner married a Canadian and has obtained dual citizenship for his eldest child EV and is in the process of acquiring the same for his youngest. He had a grandfather who was Canadian. Why is the Immigration System in Canada stalling his application? He would be a great asset.
I know I sound selfish and you are right. I would love for them to spend more time up here so I can see all of them more often but I guess this was not meant to be. Canada does not want to open their doors to him. As a result Matt must spend more time in the USA securing his future to ensure the future for his family. After-all most athletes have short careers. Most must think about what to do for the rest of their lives once their playing time has ended. Their career choices are hard on their bodies. Yes the family may survive financially if they are frugal surviving off the earnings Matt made during his NBA career but is it the healthy and wise choice to make to just sit back and do nothing once this part of your life is over? After all he will still be in his thirties albeit his late thirties but as humans we are not meant to remain idle. It is not good for one's mental health. What kind of role model would he be for his children? It is not likely they will follow in his footsteps and even if they did would they make it into the NBA?
Matt's siblings both play basketball and both have played professionally. Both also only earn normal salaries. It is not possible for everyone to be picked for these elite positions. It takes hard work, skill, determination and the right body type. He is after all 6'10" tall which helps. It is not likely either of his children will reach that height. My daughter is only 5'4" tall. Both children will definitely be taller then her but probably not as tall as their Dad.Will they have the same drive and interests as their father? Maybe. Whatever their choices will be for their future, I just hope it does not take them even further away from me. Again I am a Grandmother missing her Grandchildren.
Thursday, January 28, 2016
Evangeline-Vesper Lynne Bonner Turns 5 Today
Evangeline-Vesper Lynne Bonner was born June 21st, 2009 in San Antonio Texas. Her mother Nadia Kullo is my daughter who hails from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Nadia married Matthew Bonner who hails from Concord, New Hampshire. At the time of meeting Nadia worked at the Air Canada Centre as a Box Hostess and Event Planner. Matt Bonner played for the Raptors in the NBA.
From there they had to manage a long distance relationship because he was traded to the San Antonio Spurs. He currently plays for them, helping them win the current NBA Championship for 2014.
I spent last year with my grandchildren while my daughter traveled with her husband down to Miami for a game. Last year the San Antonio Spurs lost the championship to the Miami Heat but this year they turned the game around and won by a landslide.
I still remember watching EV waking on her birthday and watching on her Baby Monitor saying to herself that today was her birthday and she was 4 for real. She had so many celebrations up to that point having to fit them in around her father's schedule but realized which day was the real day to celebrate.
EV (Evangeline-Vesper) is a special girl to all who love her and those who meet her. All of us feel our children and grandchildren are the best in the world. This is expected. Unconditional love has to come from those close to us as it is the only love we can truly count on and trust.
This little girl has brought so much sunshine and joy in our lives. She is for the most part always happy, loving everyone, judges no one, accepts the joy in life and has a thirst for knowledge. She is also beautiful and healthy. We are the luckiest people in the world having her in it.
Last year her father's team (Matt Bonner - San Antonio Spurs) did not win the championship. EV was told if they did she and all her family would get to participate in a parade. San Antonio's parades are celebrated using floats on the river down by the River Walk. EV has witnessed many parades in her short life but had yet to be part of one. This year she got her wish and was able to participate in this highlight of her father's career. What a proud moment. With the way everything is documented these days she will have many records to refer to should her memory fault her about this special day.
I do hope my granddaughter has her best birthday celebration ever today.
I know your party is a few days from now but today you are surrounded by the people who truly love your just the way you are.
Love Grandma
p.s. I would love to have been able to be there to celebrate with you today but take comfort I have been promised a day with you on my own. We will go and have tea in a castle when this day comes. It is something I enjoyed sharing with your Mother when she was young and would love to now share with you.
From there they had to manage a long distance relationship because he was traded to the San Antonio Spurs. He currently plays for them, helping them win the current NBA Championship for 2014.
I spent last year with my grandchildren while my daughter traveled with her husband down to Miami for a game. Last year the San Antonio Spurs lost the championship to the Miami Heat but this year they turned the game around and won by a landslide.
I still remember watching EV waking on her birthday and watching on her Baby Monitor saying to herself that today was her birthday and she was 4 for real. She had so many celebrations up to that point having to fit them in around her father's schedule but realized which day was the real day to celebrate.
EV (Evangeline-Vesper) is a special girl to all who love her and those who meet her. All of us feel our children and grandchildren are the best in the world. This is expected. Unconditional love has to come from those close to us as it is the only love we can truly count on and trust.
This little girl has brought so much sunshine and joy in our lives. She is for the most part always happy, loving everyone, judges no one, accepts the joy in life and has a thirst for knowledge. She is also beautiful and healthy. We are the luckiest people in the world having her in it.
Last year her father's team (Matt Bonner - San Antonio Spurs) did not win the championship. EV was told if they did she and all her family would get to participate in a parade. San Antonio's parades are celebrated using floats on the river down by the River Walk. EV has witnessed many parades in her short life but had yet to be part of one. This year she got her wish and was able to participate in this highlight of her father's career. What a proud moment. With the way everything is documented these days she will have many records to refer to should her memory fault her about this special day.
I do hope my granddaughter has her best birthday celebration ever today.
I know your party is a few days from now but today you are surrounded by the people who truly love your just the way you are.
Love Grandma
p.s. I would love to have been able to be there to celebrate with you today but take comfort I have been promised a day with you on my own. We will go and have tea in a castle when this day comes. It is something I enjoyed sharing with your Mother when she was young and would love to now share with you.
Grammy Pammy WammyThursday, January 28, 2016
Children
are rarely born perfect but in their parent's eyes they are. We count
the number of toes and fingers they have when born and check them out
from head to toe. All imperfections are considered correctable or
acceptable making your child unique. After all you have made it this far
in life and have now given life to another. Many are not as lucky and
must suffer the pain of not being able to have a child at all. Most imperfections can be corrected with a little patience and love.
My daughter suffered from blocked tear ducts for the first year of life which disappeared by her first birthday following the doctors instructions to the letter. Minor surgery to correct this problem would have resulted if we had not done as we were told. Another issue we faced was having to manage her high fevers for the next few years as a result, or so we were told that the part of her brain which controlled body temperature had yet to develop, but it would in time. It did, but not before she she went through several visits to the hospital to receive help to reduce her fevers from 105 degrees. She went into convulsions, her lips turned blue, became dehydrated etc. before miraculously all of this suddenly went away for good. Next we had to deal with her allergies which you only are introduced to because of a reaction and usually only one at a time. Fun and games we had but the end result was all of this went away and we were left with our perfect children.
This is, we thought they were perfect until they attend school where you are exposed to the so called experts opinion of your delightful offspring. My daughter was considered gifted but hard to handle in her early years at school. She liked to correct her teachers. Her friends sometimes took offense to her making adjustments to their art work so it would look perfect. At a birthday party one year her peers locked her in a room to separate themselves from her need to be right. Well she is now the mother of my grandchildren so she was perfect after-all producing these two absolutely perfectly wonderful, beautiful and loving kids.
My son had to have strabismus (cross-eyed) corrected by surgery but not before he went through the eye patch stage looking like a little pirate and walking into doorways because he was seeing double. Well now he has perfect vision, so it worked. The surgery, however changed him. He lost his appetite and went from being considered 95 % on the growth chart to 5% a year later. He stopped growing for a whole year. Yikes, this scared us but finally he grew and is now normal sized. Just before this we had to deal with his torticollis which means he had a crooked neck. After just over a year of physiotherapy he was normal. This was until this sport crazed kid who was loved by every teacher at his Junior School went to Middle School. This is when he was diagnosed with ADD. I always knew he hated sitting still so tried to keep him active but I was not ready for this. All the Doctor wanted to do was to medicate him which I would not allow. Somehow he made it through to adulthood managing the best he can.
I love my children with all my heart and like most parents do not want to see their imperfections. All of us are imperfect which is what makes us unique.
When my kids would say they were raised in a dysfunctional family, I would ask them to show me a truly fully functional one. There aren't any and any claiming they are must be lying to themselves because they do not exist. We learn mostly through our mistakes. Making a mistake makes us human. Maybe repeating the same mistakes over and over again might classify us as dysfunctional but most of us never allow our mistakes to take over our lives. We identify the mistakes and make corrections so we can move on to the next obstacle waiting to challenge us.
After all this is what makes life so interesting.
Love
the look for this Fairy Grandmother. After all are not all Grandmothers
Fairies? We perform magical tasks for our wonderful grandchildren. Who
could love grandchildren more and what is more magical than their love?
We read to them stories of a magical world. We explain the magic of the
world. We try to see the wonders of the world through their eyes. We act
out with them the stories of the magic they encounter. What is more
wonderful than the magic of a receiving a hug or kiss from a
Grandparent? Or sitting on a Grandmother's lap or listening to her sing a
song or read a story? Grandmother's have the time and patience they did
not have with their own children and are willing to share this now with
the their delightful grandchildren. Every moment spent with my
grandchildren is a magical experience.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)