It is difficult for my son and his family to travel. Sure the funds are an issue but we would (and have in the past) sent them funds to come visit. My DIL isn't too keen on coming up as all her family is down there, parents, brother, sister and even some other relatives. In their defense, there is also the problem of scheduling. One grandchild is in first grade and the other in pre-kindergarten. There is also the baby. It is very hard for them to fly or drive back and I don't want to encourage either for fear of anything happening. We can't always be their houseguests either because we disrupt their schedules. Time is limited that he can be away from his job. And prior to our retiring, that was also the case with us.
So, you see, even with visits, there is also the good-byes that hang over every precious moment spent with them. And we all can't be there at the same time. At least when they were able to come up, we had lots of family and friends over to share in the joy of their company. As the years go on, and they do so quickly, we drift more apart. My other son and his brother barely speak. And my son suffers from not knowing his nieces and nephew. He'd make a great uncle for sure. Thank you for your prayers.