Hello again! I am glad you are back!
I thought today I would home in on another “purpose” idea that is big for me as I am sure it is for you if you have children and/or grandchildren; that is, being more engaged with them when I have more time.
We have two adult daughters and two granddaughters, one about to leave her teenage years, and one just entering them. First of all, how in the world did that even happen? LOL! I don’t believe I am old enough to have an almost 20 year old granddaughter…but I digress…(bet some of you wonder this same thing!)
We are lucky to have both of our daughters and granddaughters and son-in-law live close to us. We do see each other every little bit, and I go to my granddaughters’ events as often as I can. I communicate with my daughters at least by e-mail or text every day, and phone calls at least a few times a month. We all get along great, and I now consider my adult daughters to be my best friends. That is such a blessing because well, truth be told, while they were great kids overall, a few years were rough for us…and I am grateful we all came through it with the close relationship we all have with each other!
But, I would like to be able to actually SEE my daughters more often. Together and one-on-one. Family gatherings are wonderful, but it is hard to really talk to any one of them in depth when everyone is all together. They do seek my thoughts on many situations, and I appreciate that…but actually being together individually will really help to home in on that ability so it isn’t as forced. I feel like I now have a bit more wisdom to impart, but it doesn’t come out well, and doesn’t get perceived well, when it is all a data-dump of ideas all at once. So, I intend to intentionally have more specific face time get togethers with them.
I would like to do the same thing with our granddaughters. Being 6 years apart, the are definitely in different worlds from each other, so again, one-to-one will definitely be more fruitful. I look forward to just hanging out, talking, doing some things together, and helping them to talk through their “stuff” and hopefully being able to learn from my own story. After all, while it is a different world I grew up in, I was a kid and a teenager once! And sometimes us grandparents can have an influence that parents can’t. I want to help support my daughter and son-in-law in their goals for their daughters.
So, my “purpose” will include more intentional relationship growth with both our daughters and granddaughters. Whether your children and/or grandchildren are local to you or not, I encourage you to think of ways to communicate with them regularly, face to face as often as possible, and through text, e-mail, phone and even perhaps Skype in between times. We have a lot of good experiences to share, and we need to pass along our family heritage to them.
So far, this “purpose” thing is looking good, but more ideas are bubbling in my head!
Have a great day!
Mary
Yes, retirement does give you more chance to see the kids and grandkids more and have some good conversations that you don’t get to have at family gatherings. But, with their busy schedules, it still is sometimes hard to get that one on one time with them. It takes everyone a while to work out the timing for those times.
That’s for sure! Guess we have to continue to remember the years WE were so busy we couldn’t make timing work out for these things. Here’s hoping that with at least our side being a little more flexible in timing during retirement (at least, sometimes! LOL!), it can hopefully work out more often! Life is VERY busy! Thanks!