Long Distance Grandparenting. Tips, Tricks and Wisdom for Staying connected when your Children Live Abroad. | Ep 89

In this episode of the House of Peregrine Podcast, we’re talking about one of the most tender realities of international life: loving your people well when they live an ocean away. Host Mickelle sits down with Helen Ellis, M.A., New Zealand–based researcher, author, and anthropologist, and founder of DistanceFamilies.com—a longtime practitioner of distance parenting and grandparenting with family spread across the U.S., England, and Scotland.

Helen shares why she wrote her Distance Families book series after discovering just how little guidance exists, despite how common this life has become. Together, they explore the emotional undercurrent (especially guilt), the invisible grief that can sit alongside pride, and the practical rituals that help relationships thrive across time zones, without pretending it’s easy.

In this episode:

• The grounding question that changes everything: “How is distance familying for you?”

• Why empathy across generations is the real bridge

• Adult children as the “communication traffic officer” (book it, then build rhythm)

• Small visit-frictions that quietly matter: gratitude, thoughtfulness, respect for the home

• Rituals that hold connection: letters, shared books, mini-golf, food traditions

• Planning well for later life when family won’t be down the road

For Helen’s books, resources, and all links mentioned, visit: https://www.houseofperegrine.com/podcast/ep-089.

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