I've never had a strong relationship with my grandparents. We moved to the other side of the world when I was 6, which makes it hard to maintain relationships with family. Once we moved, my maternal grandmother would post vhs tapes of my favourite cartoons from the UK (Lambchop's sing along, the Wombles, and Rupert Bear, just to name a few!)
When my mum and I returned to Scotland 10 years later for my grandmothers funeral, my grandfather, a very reserved man, was very quiet, obviously dealing with the grief of losing his wife. The day we left, was the only day he gave me a big hug. And once back in Australia, we kept in touch on Skype, talking almost every night. I was devastated when he too passed away.
As for my dads side of the family, I never really had a very close relationship with his parents. Although, my Nanny never missed a birthday, and my grandfather sent me some beautiful pictures he painted of my favourite Disney characters, and animals.
So when we arrived in Sri Lanka, and I met my neighbour in the hotel, it didn't take long for him to adopt me as his granddaughter. He's such a lovely man. This poem is for him:
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