By Charmaine N. Smith for her grandchildren
Dear Anna and Caroline,
Yeah, you found this, you’ve found Gramma!
I hope that you will read every page and find that you have so many people here in your hometown waiting, and with LOTS OF LOVE FOR YOU.
These are the words of a very sad grandmom, Charmaine N. Smith, who is being denied the right to be in the lives of her grandchildren, but she has not given up. She came up with a very unique idea that she then followed through on; she started a website dedicated to her granddaughters and writes to them every day in hopes they will one day find it.
Her mission is to also get this idea out to other grandparents as a means of keeping a journal of their lives for the sake of their grandchildren.
Continued from her site – http://www.annaelytz.com/
My hope, is that someday I will not have to and we can all be re united and peaceful.
This entire web site was created for you and is dedicated to keeping you updated on current family events, but at the same time, giving you an online diary to share the countless memories we had together. I write and post photos for you so that you can read and see the endless love I have for all of you.
I am your daddy, Michael’s, mom. He is my wonderful son and I love him and you and your mom very very much.
I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I NEVER TURNED AWAY FROM BOTH OF YOU OR YOUR MOM AND DAD. YOU WERE TAKEN FROM ME MANY YEARS AGO AND I WAS NEVER GIVEN AN INTELLIGENT REASON WHY. I was given no choice, and you were given no choice.
I was told that I bought you too many gifts, I brought the wrong cake to Caroline’s baptism, I gave Anna too many cookies, and did too much for you. And for that I am guilty. I guess being a gramma meant loving both of you in every way I knew how.
The last time I saw you, Anna, I heard your voice saying,”I want to see my Gramma.” And Caroline, you just looked on as your daddy held you as I was told to leave the house. That was it.
I begged to be able to see you again, but was told no. I want you to know that there are no secrets about me, and whatever you have been told, there is another side of the story. You must find out for yourselves.
I do know that your daddy did not agree with all of it because he told me he never wanted this to happen. It seemed that he did not have a choice either, or was forced to make a choice.
It is not up to me whether or not I can see you or talk to you.
Your Aunt Stephanie even tried to see you when she flew all the way across the country to visit, and she was told no, and was turned away after she tried so hard.
You have an entire family of cousins, aunts, uncles , great grandmother and friends all waiting to celebrate your lives. We miss you every holiday and we never forget to include you even if it is only in our hearts.
It is not fair to either one of you that choices have been made for no reason whatsoever to keep you from your family.
You can read more on Charmaine’s blog site –http://www.annaelytz.com/
If you are a grandparent seeking rights to be in the lives of your grandchildren, we suggest you contact one, or all, of the following organizations:
- Advocates for Grandparent-Grandchild Connection Susan Hoffman, founder, contributes an advice column in every issue of GRAND Magazine. To read the current issue click here.
- Grandparents Rights Association of the United States can be found on Facebook here
- National Kinship Alliance for Children (formerly National Committee of Grandparents for Children’s Rights).
