| dc.description.abstract | This thesis is the first academic study of New Zealand distance grandparents by a
New Zealander. It is based on eight, in-depth qualitative, ethnographic interviews with
distant grandparents whose global families live 20 – 30 hours flight travel away. I ask
the question: “How is distance grandparenting for you?” My findings complement, to a
large degree, the existing handful of similar global studies of this prolific but little
researched contemporary kinship phenomenon. The participants’ responses and my
analysis contribute to this literature by focusing on communication, the ambiguity of
relationships, emotions, ‘being there’ and the practical realities, now and into the
future.
I bring to this discussion three factors which combined promise a unique
contribution. First, I have known my participants for an average of 14 years. This
infuses, on occasions, a deeper discerning to the participants’ responses that goes
beyond our 1½ hour formal interviews and assists to paint a more longitudinal picture
of each family ‘package’. Second, I am a 20+ year veteran of transnational familying
with most, not just some, of my family living permanently far overseas. This affords
me the opportunity, via autoethnographic methods, to weave an additional insider
richness by way of personal reflections, encounters and storytelling. Finally, during the
lead up and delivery of this project I lived through some of the most challenging times
of my own transnational kinship journey. Rather than keep these family trials and
tribulations private, I have shared them, exposing my vulnerability and a rawness of
emotion that takes the reader to a place and understanding of transnational,
intergenerational familying they may not have otherwise got to (Ruth Behar 1996:14).
My argument is straightforward: how distance grandparenting is for my participants is
the product of several interacting factors: their personal situation, their distance
family and in-country family relationships, geographical boundaries and time zone
restrictions along with cultural, religious and language issues. Furthermore, for my
distance grandparents ‘Place’ is multi-sited: physically and psychologically. Distance
grandparenting is ever changing, evolving and on occasions can be a lonely place. In
general, my New Zealand distance grandparents ‘make the most’ of their situations
accepting the good with the bad, the ‘pros and the cons’, and maintain an upbeat
stance. | en_US |
