As I age and my children get on with their lives, I remind myself that the relationship between me and them is changing. My daughter lives in the Midwest, while I live in Arizona. She has four kids now. Her immediate family is the center of her life, not her relationship with me. I had to adjust my expectations when she got married and work on making sure that she wanted to maintain her relationship with me and not pressure or guilt her into it.

What works for us is spending one month in the summer living in an Airbnb in a town next to hers. My husband and I work remotely during that month and spend time with my daughter’s family. It’s a lot more difficult for my daughter to travel to see us because her children are very young.

While I wish we had a lot more interaction with my daughter during the year, I have learned to show my appreciation for the interaction that we do have.