Connecting With Far-Away Grandchildren

I am a lucky girl this weekend. I will be spending the next two days with the loveliest young lady I know — my three-month-old granddaughter. I'm not one of these fortunate people who live close to their grandchildren. While they aren't huge distances away, they aren't close either. Visits, therefore, are generally planned and extended, which is both good and bad. Sure, I'd love to experience the pop-ins that many folks in my community enjoy — surprise arrivals from grandkids enroute to various others places in town, or simply coming in to touch base because they can. But, there is compensation in knowing that when I do get the visit, it's usually for a sleepover. Growing up, I loved that my grandparents lived close by. They were an integral part of my life and decades later I still miss them. Looking back, I can't help thinking how difficult it would have been to stay in touch on a regular basis had the physical distance between my grandpare