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Long distance grandparents wordle

Happy Mother’s Day Catch Up

Happy Mother’s Day! Today is for you, whether you’re a mother, a mother-in-law, a grandmother or reuniting with a mom whom you haven’t seen since before COVID. Or, maybe you are remembering a mother? Perhaps you’re also  enjoying watching a new mom fall in love with her new baby or passing wisdom to a growing child? However you celebrate Mother’s Day, I hope you enjoy savoring old memories and making new ones.

Many generations for Mother's Day

Whether it’s FaceTime, landline or snail mail: CALL A MOM !  And, if you feel so inclined, check out these links and consider donating to a charity of your choice to help mom’s in India:  Help India During COVID.

Catching Up

So, it’s been a while since Dawn and I have posted. Well, you could say that Dawn and I have had a bit of COVID fatigue.  And, ahem….we’ve been a bit preoccupied. First, getting vaccinated yay!!  Then, helping to make sure that our families got vaccines as quickly as permitted. That was a LOT of late night internet juggling. Can you relate?

Mothers Near & Far

Coincidentally, since our last post, Dawn and I have each welcomed a new grandson. Our latest little guy is named for my dad/Zaydie and northern DIL’s Grammie. This tradition of naming a child for a cherished family member is yet another way to link generations into the future. Passing on these names is also a wonderful way to celebrate lives lived. Truly, this is a way to honor “their memories as blessings”. Many, many blessings.

New Long Distance Grandparents Facebook Page!

While our kids were pregnant with expectations, chasing after toddlers and getting vaccinated, Dawn and I were asked to moderate a long-distance grandparents social media site. Currently, this FB community includes close to 500 long distance grandparents from around the world. We have been thinking of and planning ways to link Smiles Beyond Miles with that spirited group. At the same time, we want to provide options for the ways you like to connect.
For a sample of how Long Distance Grandparents Facebook group benefits from connecting with other long distance grandparents facing similar challenges and joys, check out this wordle:
Long distance grandparents wordle
For more info, search Facebook for Long Distance Grandparents and request to join. This is a monitored, private group so you’ll need to answer a few questions. There, you’ll also find more ideas for connecting with grands remotely, art projects from Dawn and fun stories (emotional ones, too) posted by long distance grandparents from Australia to the Netherlands and across the US.

Stay Tuned…

Meanwhile, stay tuned for a new look for our Smiles Beyond Miles blog. As Dawn and I always learn from this blog adventure… delivering content and building our community in creative and efficient ways is a work in progress! Look forward to hearing how you connected on Mother’s Day and every day.
  Cheers and happy connecting to all you mom’s and mom-supporters
An Unexpected Gift for This Long-Distance Grandparent. Photo of a group of walking sticks from branches that were collected by the visiting grandchild.

An Unexpected Gift for This Long-Distance Grandparent

In the midst of the pandemic, my husband and I received an amazing, unexpected gift. It all started with a phone call this summer. Suddenly, the rhythm of our COVID life changed – for the good. My son and his family were coming for a long visit, because work and school had gone online. There are just no words to describe how thrilled I was. This long-distance grandparent was going to be a local Bubbe (grandparent) for one whole month!

Anticipation

A plan was quickly fleshed out. After flying here, they would quarantine for two weeks at our house while we would stay at an Airbnb. Then they would spend a month with my daughter-in-law’s family, and afterwards, a month with us. We were so fortunate that it all went smoothly. Sooner than we could have ever imagined, our time came. Read more

Long-Distance Grandparents: Creativity is at Your Fingertips: Smiles Beyond Miles. Photo of 4 different types of colorful stamp pads

Long-Distance Grandparents: Creativity Is At Your Fingertips

With all the art supplies I’ve accumulated, it’s ironic that one of my favorite things to use is as close as my hand. Literally. And for anyone who feels, not so confident in their artistic ability, fingers can be better than brushes! Ask your grandkids: they naturally use them all the time! What do they know that we may have forgotten? Long-distance grandparents – creativity is at your fingertips!

Let’s start with a basic fingerprint. By itself, it’s a lovely oval shape. But, if we add just a few lines and then play with color and repetition, we open up a whole new world. Our fingerprints can become animals or plants or imaginary thing-a-ma-jigs. They’re also perfect for video chats with our grands, because the shapes are simple and the lines are easy to see. And, I’ll show you how to use them for games, too! Read more

SMILES BEYOND MILES : THE JOURNEY BEGINS

 DAWN AND CARRIE

Dawn’s Inspiration
The journey to visit my grandkids begins in an airport. Being a long-distance grandparent, was not what I had envisioned.  I imagined weekend visits and celebrations together. But that’s not how it worked out.  So how could I create  a special connection with my far away grandkids?

I needed a role model and lucky for me, while growing up I had one.  She was my “Grandma from Chicago” (yes, that’s what we called her). Grandma was one-of-a kind. She was zany, outspoken and always on trend. You could talk to her about anything! Because she was a long train or plane ride away, visits were infrequent. But they were always memorable!  In between visits, she even made our phone calls fun. Read more