When your children were young, you may have pictured them growing up and living nearby. Now that they are adults, however, reality has sunk in and a couple of them live hundreds of miles away. You just found out that one of them is expecting a child. Oh boy, how are you going to be a good grandparent from such a long distance?

When separated by hundreds of miles, day-to-day grandparenting can be tough. There are some things you can do, however, to maintain a foothold in your grandchildren’s lives. The most obvious is communication. Take advantage of the technology today to communicate with your grandchildren as much as possible. Call and e-mail them frequently. Play video games with them online or check out a chatroom together. Write them letters and send them photos, videos and packages.

Nothing, of course, beats face-to-face communication, so try to visit with your grandchildren as much as possible. Go see them at their house and spend some one-on-one time with them. Arrange for them to come to your house and share some of your favorite activities with them. Consider going on vacation with your grandchildren and checking out all of the attractions together. All of these will give you ample opportunity to really get to know your grandchildren and bond with them.

Do your best to attend your grandchildren’s special events, starting with their birth. Be at the hospital when they are born and make a point to come to as many religious rites of passages, recitals and graduations as possible. This will reinforce to your grandchildren how much they mean to you and how important their milestones and accomplishments are to you.

Be a presence in your grandchildren’s lives. Keep in touch with them and learn all that you can about them. Know what their likes and dislikes are, who their friends are and what’s going on in their lives on a daily basis. Share in their successes and their failures. Make them a part of your life no matter where they may be.

Do all that you can to develop and maintain a relationship with your grandchildren. If you make the effort, your grandchildren will recognize that and love you dearly for it. All of those miles that separate you from them will seem to just melt away.