- Dennis Coke Granddaughter Keisha prepares to hug Grandma Gregory.
HAVING 11 children and numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren has given 71-year-old Miriam Gregory many reasons to travel, in and out of Jamaica. The children living in Mandeville near the family home will see her often, but she takes time out to visit her daughter in Hayes, Clarendon, one in Spanish Town, one in Harmonds, Manchester, and her son in Kingston.
Mrs. Gregory then leaves for Florida, spends maybe a month or so, goes to New York where she has a larger number of relatives, then onto Connecticut to visit daughter Florence and grandsons.
Having three daughters and grandsons in three different states in the USA, makes her travels more interesting. Her daughter Denise lives in Mandeville, about five minutes away and has two children. Two of her sons, Dwight and Leroy, still live in the family house. Son Donald also lives close to her in Mandeville. But Bev, who lives in Harmonds, also gets frequent visits from her mother.
So when Mrs. Gregory leaves Mandeville, her first stop is usually Hayes, where she spends two weeks with Vangie, one of her eldest daughters, who is a grandmother and has two daughters who are still in school.
Her next stop is Spanish Town with Patsy and her grandson Brent. While she's there, Mrs. Gregory insists on helping out with the daily chores. Then it is on to Kingston, where she visits her son Henry and her grandaughter Keisha.
From there she might go back home for a while, but with a plan to take a trip abroad. Sometimes, her ticket is sponsored by one of the children living overseas, but at other times she buys her own ticket.
She spends a month in Florida with daughter Jennifer and her husband, before heading to Pauline and family in New York, then on to Connecticut to see Florence, before returning to Florida.
Mrs. Gregory, who was recently widowed, explained, "Now I am older it's really everyone who should come and look for me, but they have their families to tend to and their jobs to do. They come when they can, but I still travel to look for them, as long as I feel up to it."
But, now her doctor has warned her to slow down a bit, as she travels too frequently.
According to son Dwight, nothing is wrong with his mother going to visit his siblings. "I feel great that she is self-sufficient, I feel good knowing that she has the opportunity to visit."
