Heartbreak
I can bandage an owie, I can kiss a boo-boo, but I can't fix a broken heart.
When you are a mommy you learn to be prepared for all the scrapes and find away to bandage them up and kiss them away. But, you aren't prepared for those tears you can not fix.
Grandma and Grandpa left today after having Gracie by themselves all weekend. Gracie knew the time would come for them to head back to Lynchburg, and as we figured the water works started at goodbye. What we weren't expecting was the sorrow that followed for the rest of the day. Poor Gracie would cry and cry whenever she would think about them. We tried to talk to her and comfort her, but all she could make out through shaky voice and tears was "but I miss them."
You can talk until you are blue in the face, but how can you really make your four year old understand that we don't live in the same city as the people she adores the most? How can you explain that we can't move closer, or that this is the way it will be for a long time? How can a preschooler understand when she sees her classmates being picked up by their grandma's and know she can only see hers once a month?
There are no easy answers and no conversation is going to fix how much she misses them when they are gone. And, this is perhaps one of, if not the most, painful challenges I as a parent had to face. I can't fix her broken heart, and I can only sit by and try to comfort her and wipe her tears. We look at the calendar and mark off the days until the next visit. But, you know it is not the same, and you know she is hurting and may never understand.
I wasn't that close to my grandparents, and I only saw them twice a year. But, I had my Lou and I went over to her house often and every chance I had. Garren lived in the same county as both sets of his grandparents and had his entire family within a 30 minute drive or so. For poor Gracie, life just isn't fair. We just do the best we can.
On the bright side she apparently had an amazing weekend with Grandma and Grandpa. You can see the hilarious pictures here.
Gracie, Grandpa and I had soooo much fun with you this weekend! We are still talking about all of the special things you said and did. We hope we can have another wonderful time like this again soon. Love you!! Mommy, We're not sure who the separation is worse on.. her or us. There are way too many broken hearts. We really think you and Daddy should work on this. :)
ReplyDeleteGracie, I just love the baby camel that you got to pet! I'd love to see it and pet it too! It looks like you had fun.
ReplyDeleteBarbara, I can't help you on this one! I have no advice other than Garren getting a job in Lynchburg (or withitn 30 minutes) and moving. Sorry. Hopefully getting back in school and staying busy will help keep her mind off of it.