All four of our children live close, no more than probably 5 miles away for the one that lives the furthest away, the closest is a half mile.

Sue

Three of my children live close, my youngest son lives about 3 hours away by car but I am always very happy when he and his soon to be wife come to visit. Life is short sometimes and I try to enjoy what I have.

I agree, I am very lucky. When my kids were little I used to say I was a Walton at heart. ("Goodnight, John Boy....")

Sorry, Californians, but when my kids were young and impressionable, I told them California was going to fall into the sea someday. Several of my friends' children grew up and moved to CA; now their parents wish they'd planted that seed long ago too. LOL

Oh Alisande, I hope you're wrong!

As a young adult, I moved just up the coast from my home town for a different reason, not realizing that an added bonus was getting some space from my immediate family (with whom I always got along well). Everyone made frequent visits in both directions, and those visits became something we'd look forward to and enjoy.

I have friends who, either as concerning their own siblings/parents or their own kids or both, have a lot of family close by and the family dramas can be overwhelming. My own family is scattered around and I think (in our case) it makes relationships good and visits quite special. Different things work for different people.

Holidays are for families and sharing and I understand that for some separation and distances can lead to unhappiness. I wish you all the best.

This post was edited by snidely on Mon, Dec 16, 13 at 13:47

That is one of the reasons that Tony chose the job he has now...is that it got me "home" again. I am still not right next to them, But close enough to go visit regularly but they are only 45 minutes away except my DB and he is 1.5 hours away..I went to my Aunt Mary's family Christmas party this past weekend at the nursing home. Except for my Aunt and her kids most were distant distant relatives that I have know all my life..LOVED LOVED it!!!

Our DD and 3GK and DSIL live 17 hours away in Michigan. They are coming home for Christmas though. Our DS and SDIL and 3GK and 2 GGK live in ND about 3 hours from here in SD. We will all get together for Christmas in ND. All of my siblings and most of the children live in ND.

One son is close, maybe half an hour away. The other is on the opposite coast and so is my brother. I'm in PA and they are in PA. I grew up around here and never wanted to come back but my XH had a different idea. I think my CA son and I get along better because he is not so close.

And yes, girls and therefore the grandchildren, remain closer to their families. It is often the case that the father's parents are the "other" grandparents. My sons don't have kids but it was certainly true for me and for my mother. Not always true, but I think it is more often than not.

One set here in ND, one couple (no kids) Mich and one set in No. CA but we have good communication. We seem to survive as all three of my kids have wonderful and supportive inlaws and I get along and know all of them.

And then there are some grown kids in their 50s who live VERY close but never visit (talking about my siblings visiting mom). And they are ALL daughters. Shame on them!!

DD lives about 16 miles from here.....although we don't see her every week, we know she is close and available when she isn't at work.
DS and his family live in NYC....a long way from here. I bet they wished they lived closer during the winter.

My two live here. Daughter, sil, and grandson live five miles away. Son lives 15 minutes away. All of our family have lived in PA since the early 1700's. Too lazy to move , I guess. Daughter did live briefly in VA Beach when her husband was in the navy, but they've been back here for over 20 years. It's a good thing too since I don't like to travel because of my six pets.

I was the only one from my family that ever lived away and I can say I have loved it.. Being only a little over an hour away I could go visit and get back home in the same day. Our 3 kids all live within 30 minutes from us. We see or talk to them often. I live close enough to babysit when needed and I love doing it, too. I would hate if one of them had to move but I'm sure we would work it out.. Love my kids and grandkids..

I grew up in NYC, and the day after I got married my parents moved to Florida. We were always very close, and that was a wrench. We visited with each other at least twice a year, called often, wrote letters frequently, and kept in close touch in the years before email and Skype. But I always wished they lived closer, and wished my children had grandparents nearby. (My husband's parents lived in Bermuda and Arizona.)

I was an only child, and the area I live in is largely populated by big families with grandparents, great-grandparents, and aunts and uncles galore. I don't know if they feel lucky, but they always seemed that way to me.

2 of our sons live within 15 minutes of our home.DD lives in Az,and ds#2 lives on Guam.Most of the older gk's live out of state as well.So we make do with what we have.Not what I'd wish for,but it is what it is.
kathi

I'm the one who moved away from family to Colorado, and it is so very hard sometimes.

This Christmas will not really be a holiday. We both have the day off work, but for one thing, we've already done the Christmas present thing, and there's no tree because of the new catten. He thinks everything is his, and is a toy.

One son lives in in Seattle, and hasn't talked to me in over three years, tho I've reached out to him over and over. All I can do is wait for him to come to his senses.
The other son lives in California with his wife and my three grandkids. I've seen my granddaughter twice. Once when she was 2 and once when she was 7. She's 11 now. The two grandsons I've only seen once.

When my Dear Mother in Law was alive, we had the most magical Christmases. All the inlaws and cousins were close by. I used to cry because I missed those times so much. Now I can think back on them with fondness and thankfulness.

My 2 daughters are both grown (24 and 25). Both live with their boyfriends in the same town as us. I see one frequently- she visits or calls at least 5 times a week. The other I rarely see.

I grew up in a large family; DM, DF, 4DS's and 4DB's. For many years we all lived close by, even after we were married and kiddies came along. Holidays were all spent back "at home" with DM and DF. Then changes happened and many of us moved away due to jobs, the brothers going into service, etc.

In my case, now, after losing my DH years ago, I live alone. I have two grown children. My family is small now. My DS lives in another state and comes home for Thanksgiving, but not Christmas. My DD lives just a few miles from me and comes by every Sunday, plus we talk on the phone, and or email. My DGD and her family live about a half hour away. Their work doesn't leave them much time for random visits. My DGS and his wife live a couple miles away,and like most folks their age are busy with their jobs and friends.

They will all be here for Christmas Eve, weather permitting. I'm most grateful, that in my family, everybody gets along and there are no problems or hard feelings. We enjoy being together. That is my greatest gift.

I hope each of you, in whatever your situation is, will see the beauty in the season and enjoy it the best that is possible.

Remember, you choose to make things happen, or to react to unpleasantness.

Merry Christmas.

Sue