I'm a Happy Grandma

I like to think that my granddaughter and I have a good relationship, but what I think is not as important as what she thinks.  I have 3 grandchildren - one boy, 2 girls they are stepping stones right now 11,12, 13 almost (Nov).  The middle one shares my birthday.  The girls seem closer to me than my grandson.  I know he loves me, but he is in his own little world a good part of the time.  We talk on the phone sometimes and do things together when I'm visiting them (they live in FL, I'm in CT) about 2-4 times a year.  It was more difficult before I lost my job trying to get vacation time, and buying airline tickets, early enough to get a good deal had me in a precarious position because I had to buy them before  the time was posted.  But being unemployed makes arrangements easier, but now I don't have as much money - unemployment comp, isn't much and now it has run out.  Things will improve when I begin to collect my pension in April next year.  I seemed to have deviated from my topic.  My granddaughter - the one who is 11 sent me an email today in response to one I had sent her a few weeks ago.  She only checks her email every few weeks so when I do send one to her I don't expect a quick response.  Instead I'm just surprised and delighted when she does write back.  I like to send email so that whenever she does check hers there will be one of mine there even if it's a little old. So today she responded to one from several weeks ago and she must have still been online when I saw it and responded.  We went back and forth about 4 times.  It was so much fun, and yet it was just light conversation.  She really is very bright.  She enjoys learning, likes to write (her mother (my daughter) and I both like to write so maybe there's a little bit of me in that.

In her email she said we have a special bond - what grandmother doesn't like to hear that?
She is my first grandchild and it's been an exciting 11  years.  I've read her stories on the phone, talked to 1 am on the phone with her, stayed up for hours just reading together (she read her book and I read mine), sometimes we stayed up late talking, and sometimes we sneaked ice cream (not more than twice though).  She's also a good little girl who is well behaved in school and patient and kind to little kids.  This year she is on the safety patrol.  The kids who escort the smaller children to their rides when the parents or car pool show up. To qualify for that job she had to do a couple of things one was write a paper about why she wants to do that and a couple of other things I can't remember right now.  But when she was told she had to write something she was delighted.  When I told her I had joined a writing group she said "sweet!!!" as though it was something special.  We all laughed, but not in a way that would ridicule her.  She laughed with us.  She does like to write.  One of my best classes in highschool was English Comp.  and all through nursing school I got good grades on all my written papers just one had a lower grade, but still a B.
While I'm not afraid of dying, I do hope I live long enough to see what kind of career choices she makes and how her life turns out.  She's a sweet and gentle little girl who likes animals, even bugs, and other little kids and me.  She's is such a joy.