Distance Families
  • Home
  • Helen's Story
  • Book Series
    • Being a Distance Grandparent
    • Being a Distance Son or Daughter
    • Being a Distance Grandchild
  • Reviews
    • Being a Distance Grandparent
    • Being a Distance Son or Daughter
    • Write a review
  • Shop
    • Being a Distance Grandparent
    • Being a Distance Son or Daughter
  • Interviews
  • Resources
    • Articles
    • Helpful Reading
  • Follow
  • Monthy Newsletter
  • Libraries
  • Contact

January Newsletter

4/1/2021

0 Comments

 
I often wonder where the world will be in twelve months. Who will we celebrate Christmas with in 2021?
What we can be sure of, is 2021 will deliver us permanent changes in we go about our lives. How that will affect Distance Families in the future is still unknown. Much wait and see is required. With our previous Christmas and summer plans turned upside down and seeing none of our distance family could visit New Zealand my husband and I 'turned Christmas on its head' and travelled way from home. ​
​
​Helen Ellis

Thoughts from the luggage carousel

Picture
I was fortunate to enjoy a walking adventure in one of our national parks prior to Christmas. For those of you sitting in Covid hotspots, especially in the cold Northern Hemisphere, please know that those of us able to enjoy these sorts of freedoms take NOTHING for granted.
When I flew back to Auckland  I had what I call an 'emotions slipping off a shelf' moment. I normally keep my Distance Family emotions tidily 'on a shelf'. There is nothing I can do about them and acceptance is the key. But as I stood at the luggage carousel a local grandfather was embracing two little grandsons who had been on the same flight as me. As I took in the moment I realized that today my U.S. daughter and two grandsons should have flown into Auckland for Christmas and I would have been doing a trip like this grandfather to the airport to meet the family.
No doubt many of you have similar coming or going stories, maybe with feelings of emotions 'slipping off a shelf'.

Jigsaw reflections

Picture
​Next stop was a holiday house. Our local daughter & family 'blessed' us with a 1000 piece jigsaw for Christmas. Fortunately, my sister-in-law who was staying with us is a jigsaw fan. As I was poking away at the puzzle I was also reading my book draft again and couldn't help but smile when I read...

... "Distance Grandparenting is like a challenging jigsaw. The picture on the box looks daunting and you would rather put the puzzle back in the cupboard. Once the ‘edge’ is done the remaining pieces don’t look like they will ever make a finished picture but with time and perseverance, each piece finds its place in the same way a routine of 'doing' Distance Grandparenting begins to emerge for you. But please, PLEASE don’t knock the table"...
​

Excerpt from 'Being a Distance Grandparent - a Book for ALL Generations'.

The Three H's

Picture
Some Distance Grandparents graciously and reluctantly accept their role... some don't.
Acceptance occurs in one’s heart because it is the right thing to do.
When acceptance hasn’t found a home, often its progress can be monitored by language. It is not so much what Distance Grandparents say to themselves (or their friends), it's what they verbalise to their Distance Family.
This language is ‘The 3 H’s’: the Language of Progressive Acceptance of Distance Grandparenting.

The Shift from Helicopter Parents to Helicopter Caregivers

My passion at DistanceFamilies.com is to increase the understanding of ‘how it is’ for each generation of scattered families - with understanding, comes empathy. This article is ‘spot on’. I highly recommend it to all distance sons and
daughters.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Helen Ellis

    Please click below to follow Distance Families News and receive the monthly newsletter.
    SUBSCRIBE
    ​​​Any information you provide will only be used to send you the latest news from Distance Families and for no other purpose. For more information see Helen's privacy policy

    Archives

    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    January 2024
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020


Helen Ellis is a member of:
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

Website by author2author | © Helen Ellis 2020 All Rights Reserved
  • Home
  • Helen's Story
  • Book Series
    • Being a Distance Grandparent
    • Being a Distance Son or Daughter
    • Being a Distance Grandchild
  • Reviews
    • Being a Distance Grandparent
    • Being a Distance Son or Daughter
    • Write a review
  • Shop
    • Being a Distance Grandparent
    • Being a Distance Son or Daughter
  • Interviews
  • Resources
    • Articles
    • Helpful Reading
  • Follow
  • Monthy Newsletter
  • Libraries
  • Contact