‘Tis the Season for Graduations

‘Tis the season for graduations! Papa Rich and I have several graduating children and grandchildren. We have college, high school, elementary school, kindergarten, and preschool graduates in our family. At least four of them were lucky enough to get wear a graduation cap and gown and have a commencement of sorts. It seems we have more and more graduation celebrations, at least more than we did years ago. But here at GoodGrandma℠, we are always up for a party!

With so many celebrations, GoodGrandma℠ would like to share two thoughts: one, be sure to be fair in gift giving and two, don’t beat yourself up if you can’t attend every function.

If you have so many children and grandchildren graduating, you want to make sure you do as Papa Rich does, be fair. He likes to say he is the “Fairest of Them All.” As mentioned in an earlier post, Papa Rich and I have a spreadsheet with gift giving information. We don’t want to do more, or less, for one child than another. Also, don’t break the bank! Set an amount that you can do now and in the years to come. Papa Rich and I give gifts for college and high school graduations, but we don’t do anything for the other many graduation celebrations.

I had a major Grandma Goof! I was invited by Copelyn to come to her preschool graduation and I forgot! Sheesh! What was I thinking?! I didn’t write it down or put it on my calendar and I spaced it. I felt so bad for not being there. As Grandmas, we do our best and if we miss an event, we can’t beat ourselves up. I did go to her home a few days later for a playdate and we visited about her graduation, read the book she had made, and looked over her artwork. I apologized to Copelyn that I didn’t make it to her graduation and she said, “It’s okay.”

I know many Grandmas live miles and miles away from their grandchildren and can’t attend different events and activities in their grandchildren’s lives. We recommend you use a video chat to visit with them before a big event and soon after to get all the details from your grandchildren. Plan ahead with their parents to find a time where there are few distractions and express to them the importance of having a meaningful visit. Thank goodness for technology and the ability it gives us to build relationships with our long distance grandchildren!