[ecurbh]

they never were a big part of the kids lives, again because we lived so far away.

I never got very close to my granparents for the same reason - they were in PA and MA, and we were in AZ. However, we had a great aunt and uncle in Tucson that we saw several times a year, and were like surrogate grandparents to us. I hadn't seen my grandmother in MA for 5 years until my trip last month.

[Wneighbor]

My great aunt and uncle live in Tucson too. She is very precious to me also. Very obstinate. Always wanting me to take her out to bars so she can dance. Wonder what I end up doing when I go to Tucson?

[SuziQ]

I hadn't seen my grandmother in MA for 5 years until my trip last month.

Yeah, that's the biggest disadvantage to living so far away from family. Of course the biggest ADVANTAGE is that you don't get caught up in the day to day melodramas among the siblings and cousins!