Flunking as a grandma

I am a failure in my new role as a grandmother. I missed the kid’s birthday. To be fair, I honestly did e-mail him a card that was set to arrive at the proper time. The problem was that I told the computer to send it on the wrong date. It was three days late. I typed a nine instead of a six. Oops.

Then I didn’t even call and wish him a happy birthday. I didn’t think he would be home. I assumed he would spend the evening with his girlfriend or maybe with the grandparents he has had since birth. I doubt if he was waiting on a telephone call from someone he refers to as “Beth’s mom.”

I will send him a paper card this week with a few dollars tucked inside. I’ll include a letter saying something or other. Maybe I will repeat a few well-worn tales about his new step-mother, like the one about the time she got run over by a go-cart and didn’t even cry or maybe I’ll just tell him to get used to receiving gifts days and even weeks after the event they are supposed to commemorate.

I have been sending late presents for as long as I can remember. This is due in part to my insistence on buying “just one more thing” up until the day before Christmas or a birthday. This would work out better if we lived closer to the rest of the family.

Next comes the process of finding a box the proper size to hold everything while still fitting into the mail truck. This takes at least a week. The box is then required to wait to be mailed for several days after it has been sealed with as much tape as possible and then unsealed to tuck in whatever I just found hidden under the wrapping paper. Then I have to buy more tape.

Add to all that the time it takes the post office to deliver the package and it is a miracle that my family ever receives their presents. My only excuse is that it is much more of a surprise this way.

My nephew is also getting a late package this year. For once it isn’t my fault. We ordered books from an on-line bookstore. They promised to ship our order in two or three days. This was two weeks before Christmas. The package arrived at our house yesterday. It is a good thing I bought a small gift for him to open on Christmas day in addition to the books or he would have thought we forgot him entirely.

My brother isn’t so lucky. We just received notice that what we ordered for him is no longer available. This is after they told us the item was in stock and would also be shipped in time for Christmas. I hope to have something for him by the time his birthday rolls around in late April.

My family is used to receiving (and sending) a string of presents all centering around birthdays or Christmas. As Chris is now a part of this family he will just have to realize that if he gets a card or present from us on his actual birthday it will be only because whatever I intended to send him for Christmas has just arrived. His real birthday card and present will arrive no sooner than a week later and up to two months after the day commemorating his birth.

Maybe I’m not a failure as a grandmother, after all. I’m just introducing the boy to a new set of traditions. He might as well have new traditions to go with his new family.

By the way, Happy Birthday, Chris! Welcome to the family.[[In-content Ad]]