Surrogate Grandparents

I have previously written about the importance of grandparent/grandchild relationships. As a mother, I missed my children having both of their sets of grandparents around. I have heard adults including my grown children say they feel they missed out from not having both sets of grandparents nearby. Friends, now grandparents themselves have described how they have missed having their grandchild close. It doesn't matter how many toys the grandparents send, and jumpers they knit, not having their grandchildren around is a void in their lives.

Surrogate grand parenting is one way to alleviate the missing for both generations.  Succinctly put by a blog in grandparents.com

“If grandparents did not exist, children would surely invent them.”

...a line from the book Grandparents/Grandchildren: The Vital Connection (Doubleday) that my husband, Ken Woodward, and Arthur Kornhaber, M.D., wrote more than two decades ago.

"They’re not our grandkids. And we don’t take the place of their grandparents. But we share a very special bond that only these two generations can really understand. It allows us to pour out some grandparenting love and savvy on two adorable kids who really appreciate it.

My grandkids don’t have the need for a substitute grandparent, as they live in cities where they have the real McCoy. And while I know what a help this is to the parents and how much fun it is for the grandkids, there are times when I can’t help but feeling jealous. Especially when they call to tell us about a trip to the aquarium or an overnight with their local grandparents. So this across-the-street relationship we have built with these youngsters is as nice for us as it is for them."

If you are interested in becoming a surrogate grandparents,there are websites that can arrange the connection. By searching in facebook for Surrogate Grandparents in your country or area, you are likely to find a match. Here are some other links that I have found:
http://volunteergrandparents.ca/
http://www.findagrandparent.org.au/faq.asp
http://www.aarp.org/home-family/friends-family/info-2017/surrogate-grandparents-benefits-fd.html
http://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/sex-relationships/relationships/surrogate-grandparents-scheme/news-story/f1eba1efc48fd582b0fc8f36766ffe77
https://www.surrogategrandparents.org.nz/

On the subject of grandparents, in case you haven't seen this post already...
11+ Ways to improve thegrandparent grandchild relationship
 

Let us know about how you have overcome missing your grandparents, your children's grandparents or if you are a grandparent, your grandchildren, by writing in the comments below.

12 Ways To Overcome Homesickness

Homesickness

The feeling of longing for a connection with home. People have reported homesickness after moving house, even just around the corner. I heard of a man, happy as an immigrant in his adopted country for sixty years, felt that he 'just wanted to go home' when he reached his eighties.
Even with a fulfilling life in a different place from your original home, you may still feel a desire to be connected to your past home. You are homesick.

Homesickness can take many forms and affect people in different ways.

Migrant groups. Good or bad?

Whether a pair of migrants befriend each other or a neighbourhood has a density of a particular ethnicity, such as in Chinatown, migrants are drawn to each other. As humans, we like to find people similar to ourselves. Migrants, in an environment surrounded by the unfamiliar, are often drawn to the familiar. Migrant groups, or migrant cluster groups, can provide this familiarity.

Large migrant groups such as in Chinatown are common in major cities. Labelled as such, we know in that area we expect a wide variety of Chinese food and shops, and a concentration of Chinese migrants. Other nationalities gather with a similar density in particular suburbs or neighbourhoods in cities. Why do migrant cluster groups happen and what are they good/bad for?

Warning: Emotions overpower economics for return migrants

 As a migrant you may have a better lifestyle, a satisfying job and prospects of a great education for your children, as well as a continual sense of discovery in your adopted country, but is this enough? For some migrants an underlying 'missing' can become overwhelming. Read more in the
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What would make you return? Please comment below.