Hoping for Hopedale
by Nola
I spent the weekend waxing philosophical about the halcyon days of my youth spent at my grandparents’ camp in Hopedale, Louisiana. And feeling bad that Sun won’t have the same experience.
I was one of five children; I had cousins my age and younger, as well as young grandparents and aunts and uncles. On the contrary, Sun probably won’t have a sibling, her cousin nearest in age to her is ten years her senior, and me being the youngest of my siblings, her grandparents and aunts and uncles (on my side) are not youthful. And CS’s family lives in Ohio (and Florida and Texas). The relative closest in age to Sun is her second cousin (well, technically, her first cousin once removed), and she lives in Virginia. In addition, the camp that I remember so fondly was wiped off the face of the earth by Katrina.
Is it wrong to want your child to be around family her own age as she grows up? Spending time at a fishing camp where kids are free to be kids? Where value lies not in what money can buy?
It’s one of the things I value most about having three boys. They have each other.
You must remember that though she may not have your childhood she will have her own and she will treasure it. There are many things in her life that she will love and long for when she is older. And remember just that family doesn’t always have to be blood related.
Besides, this gives you more reasons to have BBQ and holiday parties.
I am from Ohio and all my family lives there. My husband’s lives in Texas. So I know how you feel. I find solace in creating new traditions and finding friends to “replace” the family we don’t have here. It will be ok. But it is normal to want the good things you had for your children.