Today I was finally able to get through on the phone to my parents. I spoke with them while I was in county, but today was the first time since being in RDU. They sound completely broken right now. They mentioned that they are wanting to do anything they can to help out my family and to be there for them in any way they can. The relationships between my parents and my wife & kids are a little strained and I usually am the buffer between them, sorting things out and helping to make the best of unfortunate situations. My parents mentioned that they are going to be attending a “grandparents” class through their church which sounds promising.
My folks also let me know that they could cook meals for my wife and kids, and while I know that would make my parents feel better to be physically doing something, I know my kids. They are at the stage where they are picky about what they eat and sadly would not likely eat much of what Grandma would make for meals. We settled on my folks delivering a check of $50 each week to my wife so that my wife can determine the best way to feed the kids. A lot of the time, my wife can use restaurant apps or other means to save money on food that may be more easily prepared or picked up which saves her time and money that normally she wouldn’t be able to do.
All of this sounds pretty rough for my parents because I know they have good intentions, but I know the way in which my kids and my wife desire to interact with them is not what makes sense. They truly come from two different worlds and the bridge, me, is gone for now and has to do whatever I can from the comfort of this hell-hole in El Dorado, KS. Hopefully they can make it work and can start to work towards a closer relationship.