The Way To A Sussern Mama's Heart

This morning I got an email from Chrystie. It wasn't a very long email, but by the time I finished reading it, I was crying.

Here's the key part:

"When I went to get Ellie up this morning, the first thing she said was, "Mommy, me see Sussern Mama!" It kinda took me by surprise, cuz I couldn't think of having any conversations about you last night... I asked Ellie, "Did you have a dream about Southern Grandma?" She nodded and said, "Yes!" And then ALL morning, she kept talking about going to see you!"

Isn't that just the sweetest!?!!

Of course, it warms my heart that she remembers and thinks about her Sussern Mama, but it also makes me sad because I can't be close by to see her day-to-day growing up. Pictures and little videos are great, but it's obviously just not the same as being there.

I'd like to say it doesn't make a huge difference if they're in Texas or Canada, but that wouldn't quite be true. It was a whole lot easier (and cheaper!) to hop on a plane in Huntsville and fly two hours to get to the Dallas airport. Now it takes at least one, and usually two connections to get to Canada, plus the biggest part of the day depending on the length of the layovers. And a passport of course!

However, it's a whole lot better for them to be close by family. In Texas they were pretty much on their own, but in Canada Chrystie has a whole passel of family. That's a good thing, especially when you have a child with special needs. And supposedly, more of their health care is paid for there than it would be here.

My head knows all this. But sometimes my heart is still sad.