Really, Grand Parents day???

Just add this to the list of how I’m inadequate as a parent.  He get three meals a day and infinite snacks, a private school, religious training, plays little league and has a dog  - but not immediate access to his grand parents. GASP!!!!!

At what point did grandparents’ participation become mandatory at school functions and not just an added bonus?

And why do we consider someone who lives in an entirely separate state from his or her family to be an oddity?  It’s a big country people.  Sometimes job or other opportunities are enticing enough warrant crossing state lines.  Why is this unusual?  We are a nation of immigrants after all.

When I was growing up, schools did not acknowledge Grand Parent’s day.  Or least no at any school I attended.  I think it was a generation or two after mine, when schools made honoring and including grandparents the norm.

At Fort Rucker (a large Army post in Alabama, and Enterprise, its neighboring town) everyone there was associated with the military in some way.  No one was a native.  No one’s grandparents lived two doors down.

After that, in North Richland Hills, Texas, the country was undergoing a technology boom.  Families were relocating from everywhere.  No one really seemed to have a grandparent at their beck-and-call either. 

When we moved to Arkansas, many friends had their grandparents close by, but there wasn’t a need to have a “to do” at school.  But then again, growing up, your parents (or grand parents) never EVER ate lunch with you at school.  That wasn’t even a thought.  Who would want to come and voluntarily eat that food anyway?  I’m not really one to talk.  I never consumed the cafeteria food.  I brought my lunch.  I thought only poor people ate the cafeteria food.  I never considered that some might actually LIKE the food or that both parents worked and didn’t have time to make a lunch at 6:30 am every morning.  But I digress.

Since I lived in Texas as an adult, I’ve had to deal with “Grandparent’s Day.”  What is this?  It only seems to occur at school.  At the preschool Bruce attended, they had a tea to “celebrate.”  He was the only one without a grandparent attending, but then again he was three.  He was tickled with the cake and punch.

Somehow I managed to dodge this “event’ at the preschools he attended after moving to Tennessee.  But then there was kindergarten….

They have a GIANT breakfast for the grandparents.  It starts at 7 am.  I think you have to get there at 6:30.  Seriously….  SERIOUSLY????  Bruce was disappointed that he didn’t participate.  I managed to somewhat appease him by informing him of how much earlier he’d have to get up in order to attend. 

His new school makes Grandparent’s day the biggest “to do” yet!!!  Love the school.  I question the validity and reasoning behind the “holiday.”  The day is essentially a holiday.  Kids go do school, have a party and photo taken with their grandparents, visit the book fair and are dismissed by 11:30.  Of course you can dismiss earlier should you need to…  

So where are Bruce's grand parents?

Grandparent set number one just saw him less than a month ago – they live 500 miles away.  During this “holiday” they will probably be out of town tending to any number of ailing relatives – who also live 500 miles away.  You see, dear readers, SOME PEOPLE DON’T LIVE CLOSE TO OR EVEN IN THE SAME STATE AS THEIR FAMILY!  Shocking I know. 

At the beach with GP set 1.  Husband trying to make the photo
look "artsy"

Grandparent set number two also live 500 miles away.  They are on an extended holiday in Europe so you could say they are more like 2500 miles away.  INCONCEIVABLE HOW SOME PEOPLE WOULD CANCEL A EUROOPEAN VACATION FOR A MORNING FILLED WITH MEDIOCOR DANISH AND A SALES PITCH AT A BOOK FAIR!!!!

So my husband and I have to take vacation time to go to an event for grandparents so Bruce won’t feel left out.  Somehow I think he’ll feel left out anyway, because we’re obviously NOT his grandparents.

We’ll both need to go to work after this celebration.  So we’ll have to find somewhere for Bruce to go or something for him to do.  I asked several people how they handle days like this.  They have no idea.  “My kids always just go with their grandparents….”

Of course they do.  Of course they do…