It's an interesting thought CHEELU. My grandmother was certainly a key figure in my life. Relationships inevitably change over time and I hadn't given any thought to my 'importance' to my relatives, but it's true that I have become much more important to my youngest daughter, her new husband and my grandson; my role in their lives now is pretty central. I hope that in the next year my in-laws will move into the neighbourhood and I will also have an increased role in their lives, but will I be more important to them? Hmmm, not sure (they love me to bits anyway). One of my daughters has moved to NZ this year so it's hard to imagine having an 'important' role in her life. My eldest son has recently married and I would hope that my importance in his life has diminished somewhat.
I suppose if I think about it I never imagined having an 'important' role in my children's lives. I think my daughter being widowed has had a tremendous impact on the whole family and we're tighter knit than perhaps we might have been had circumstances been different.
