empty nester again

Martha · Post by **Martha** » Wed Jul 20, 2011 8:28 pm

Well, our six weeks of having family living with us, and not being empty nesters, has come to an end. Steven, Katie, and Saffron left on Monday for Bangkok, Thailand. They Skyped today to let us know they had arrived safely. They called first about noon, while I was at work, so my husband talked to them. They called again this evening, so I got to see them and talk to them as well.

We will really miss them. Saffron is 18 months old and I have enjoyed being Grandma--playing with her, reading to her, and swimming with her. Changing diapers, not so much--I let her parents do that.

Katie encouraged me to be more daring in my gluten-free cooking. She loves to bake, so we made GF biscotti, apple pie, and buckwheat pancakes. They gave me a lot of different kinds of GF flour, so I need to try out some recipes. The buckwheat pancakes tasted good, despite Steven's observation that the batter looked like cement!

Love,
Martha

sarkin · Post by **sarkin** » Wed Jul 20, 2011 8:38 pm

Martha,

I'm sure you'll miss them hugely - and how great that they've not only landed safely, but already been able to Skype!

I guess those GF cooking adventures will be a nice counterpart to their 'life' adventures, and you'll have much to share. I've been pretty happy with a "no-baked goods" menu, but at some point, some tasty cement will no doubt be very tempting ;)

18 months is a wonderful age. (And so is every other age... especially the age she'll be when you next get to hug her in your arms.)

Love,
Sara

Gloria · Post by **Gloria** » Wed Jul 20, 2011 9:21 pm

Martha,

Parting is such sweet sorrow. I'm still missing my grandchildren and they left three weeks ago. They are a wonderful blessing.

I'm glad you're able to Skype with your family. DD and I need to set it up again. She just got an iphone and thinks it would be great if I had one, too. She sent a video using it of her daughter swimming across the swimming pool for the first time. I saw it within minutes of her sending it. We talked on the phone while she was still at the pool and I told her to tell my granddaughter that grandma is proud of her. Technology makes distance so much smaller.

Gloria

MaggieRedwings · Post by **MaggieRedwings** » Thu Jul 21, 2011 5:06 am

Morning Martha,

I really know how much you must miss them but Skype will definitely bring them closer. 3 of my 4 grandchildren live in the UK and it is rare that we see them and at the present time due to issues phone contact is nil. Treasure those phone calls and all contact you have with them.

Happy baking!

Love, Maggie

dgshelton · Post by **dgshelton** » Thu Jul 21, 2011 11:40 am

Martha - I'm sorry they're gone, but it sounds like they had an uneventful plane ride with the baby. I know you had said they were worried about that. Isn't skype the best thing since gluten free bread! I would have said white bread, but that doesn't work for me anymore. LOL

Hugs,

Martha · Post by **Martha** » Fri Jul 22, 2011 11:03 am

Skype and email are fabulous. Better than any kind of bread!! When we first went to Indonesia in 1979, it took a letter close to two weeks to reach us. That is a month turn-around time to send a letter and get an answer. When my parents went to Burma in 1946, it often took 3 months or more for them to get mail from the States. So being able to talk to my kids in real time is truly a gift.

Saffron did great on the trip. She slept 10 hours of the 15-hour flight from LA to Guangzhou, China. That is pretty amazing. They didn't even give her Benadryl! (People often use it to put their kids to sleep on long flights. They tried to buy some, but it has been recalled.) She played a lot with Play-doh and a package of sunglasses her mom got for her.

Our house is slowly getting back to normal. We have a few more of their things to gather up and put in the attic, where they will undoubtedly bake in this 100+ heat that we are having every day. I bet it's cooler in Bangkok!

Love,
Martha

dgshelton · Post by **dgshelton** » Fri Jul 22, 2011 1:23 pm

Martha - I tried the Benedryl trick on a long car trip, over 10 hours, when my son was around Saffron's (by the way I love that name) age and it backfired. It made him cranky and hyper. Not a good combination! Needless to say, I never tried that again!

We're having the same heat. It has been miserably hot. Too hot to even go swimming. The pool feels like bathwater. It's not refreshing at all. I hope it gives sometime soon, but I think that's just wishful thinking, since we still have the hottest month of the year to go!

Hugs,