Hmm, this post is a tad emotional for me to write. One of the most precious gifts, in my opionion, that Abby has received in her entire 15 months of life was a recordable story book - recorded by her Great Grandpa Bill. It even includes a picture of G.G. Bill so that as Abby gets older, she will learn his face & know who it is that is reading her a story. Right now she's still too young to really "get" it. But she does point to his picture.
The reason this gift holds so much value to ME is because my grandparents were such a big part of my life growing up. They mean so much to me and I love them just as much as my own parents. They were strong influences on my life and continue to be two people I look up to, and call upon for advice/guidance in life. It makes me sad that Abigail has to grow up so far away from them and won't know them as well as I did. She's truly missing out, not being able to have a strong influence by these two amazing people. But this book is so incredibly precious because even though we are 2,000 miles away, G.G. Bill can read Abby a bedtime story. And in a small way, he can be a larger part of her life.
And you know what? She LOVES this book! I mean loves it! I took a video of her reading it during the day, but usually we reserve this as a bedtime book. She usually sits very quiet and still and listens to her great grandpa read to her. Then she gets very excited to hear more & turns the pages with enthusiasm. She's always turning the end flap of the book looking for more pages...wishing it wasn't over yet.
Selfishly, I also love this book, because I get to hear my grandpa's voice. It makes me so happy that even though we're far away, everyone still makes an effort to give Abigail that strong sense of being connected and loved by her extended family. I'm hoping we will see them at some point this summer. And I plan on trying to make a trip down to see all the family at some point this year, just not sure when that will be yet. Family is so important, and sometimes it really does flat out suck to be so far away from them.
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