We’re delighted to introduce the first in a continuing series of, “Long-Distance Grandparenting Bloopers.” That’s bloopers, with an “s”. Clearly, there’s more to come, so stay tuned!

And now for this week’s post. The reality is that for all our good intentions and preparation, there are just going to be times when things don’t go so well on video chats. In this case, it turned out to be quite a cliff hanger.

A little background – years ago I created and performed puppet shows with a few friends. Along with their pet dog, the puppet family (including grandparents) began their lives as socks. All were lovingly homemade. In addition, it should be noted that our shows at community centers were well received. I share this fact, because it’s highly relevant to this post’s blooper.

Now fast forward to this spring. I get a fairly urgent call from my son. Was I able to “watch” the kids because he had a very important phone meeting? No problem! Without a doubt I could keep my grandkids of 3 and 5 entertained on a video chat so he could meet.

Still, I needed something to entertain them. A light bulb went off in my head! This would be a great opportunity to show the kids some of the puppets I made years ago. Then I could do a little show!  What could go wrong?

BLOOPER ALERT!

When my son called back, I was ready with puppets by my side. He left the room to start his work call and I put on Beth, one of the sock puppets.  I picked her up and started talking. Total silence. I mean you could hear a pin drop. Then my granddaughter said in a meek, little voice, “Oh, Bubbe (grandma), she looks so sad!” My grandson looked at his sister, faced me and started to cry. “She’s sooo scary. I want my daddy!”

“Nooooo!”, I cried in desperation, “Your daddy’s on the phone on a very important meeting. We can’t disturb him.” Quickly, I pulled off the puppet. But nothing I tried calmed him down. He ran crying out of the room to his dad.

Big sigh.

Good news! The story has a happy ending. My grandson calmed down in the safety of his father’s arms, while the meeting was successfully completed.  In addition, gratefully he doesn’t appear to be any worse for the wear.

And last but not least, the puppets are safely packed away, again.

The End.

Had any long-distance grandparenting bloopers you’d like to share? Click on the blog title to comment.