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Grandparenting

we have moved to be near my son and wonder if we made a mistake

(104 Posts)
Akenside62 Tue 19-Jan-21 03:35:44

we have moved recently to be near my grandchildren. We loved our old house and area but my son and daughter in law felt the hour journey was too far to visit too regularly. Although we did not really like where they lived we thought being near the grandchildren would make up for it. They were expecting their 2nd child so we knew we hardly seen them before so with a second one it would be even worse. We did childmind for them 1 a week but was finding it financially difficult to travel every week and we were desperate to be involved with our grand daughter, so we made the decision to move, hoping the relationship would improve and it would show our son how much they meant to us. DIL parents only live around the corner so they would see them all the time and i was jealous of the relationship they had.
We only live 5 minutes away from them now.
We have only been here 4 months and now realise it was a mistake.
It hasnt helped with lockdown etc i know but they havent really been any support since weve been here. We are struggling with the house and its size and cant seem to get it right. My son has visited once since weve been here and didnt help at all with the move but as they had just had a new child i knew he had a lot on his plate.
His wife was struggling at first and i helped 2 days a week (I work 3 days) but it was getting too much so i had to tell him i could only do 1 day.
Things have been odd these last few weeks. Its been two weeks and he hasnt rung or sent any videos across. Ive sent a text and hes answered but his reply to my struggling with the house again was sorry its been a headache ill call you in a couple of days. Why are we here?
we are thinking of moving back but know that this will just ruin our relationship with our son.
Has anyone out there done the same and what happened.
Or have you got any advice on how i handle all this.
Its affecting me a lot now and i feel totally lost. Im scared about my job - im remote at the moment which is great but soon i will have to find another job too because otherwise ill be travelling back 3 days a week. But because of how unsettled i feel i dont want to get another job (if i can) in case i dont stay.
im driving my husband mad. He never really wanted to move at all and just did it to please me.

MsMagoo Sat 15-May-21 04:56:45

I two grandchildren..age 6 and 3. Poor children just went through their parents divorce about 8 months ago. The 3 year old is a lovely little fella.and we’re very close.He is also a happy go lucky type of little guy.
The 6 yo granddaughter has a sweet heart and is a good sibling to her little brother. I see the grdauhter with many similarities as her mom. By that I mean she is very closed off...at times and ignores me at times when talking to her. She doesn’t respond to any teasing( like her mom) and morose a lot.
I almost feel like she doesn’t like me. I definitely get that she has been through a lot and still very sad at times abut the divorce. Sometimes I try to talk to her a little about feelings but depending on her mood determines if a conversation will take place. Also my son is the every other weekend dad..and I spend as much time as possible at his house when they are there. My son loves his children more than anything but aside from working an extremely stressful job..doesn’t seem to have any patience with them for the most part. Anyway I’m looking for some tips or advice on how I can bond more with my granddaughter ..just things her an I can do when I visit. I’m always trying to engage her in ideas and things that we can do...without much success
New Grandma with a lot to learn for sure!

NotSpaghetti Sat 15-May-21 07:06:10

MsMagoo I think you need to start a new thread with this question if you want some help/ideas as this one is about Akenside62 and her move to be near her family.

Akenside62 how are you doing?
Hope things don't feel quite so gloomy now.
flowers

Sparkling Sat 15-May-21 07:21:12

I wondered how things were now with Akenside, I've been wrestling with the same problem.