Grandma Made Me Do It

My life today is all about family and memories. I share them from the past and make them for the future.
Growing up, I spent summers with my grandma....and she gave me the greatest gift of all.....undivided time and attention. I cherish her lessons in proper English, perfect posture, writing thank-you notes and getting to things I'd never be allowed to do at home. She let me walk to the corner market by myself and dig in the yard to plant seedlings wherever I wanted. She respected me as a person, she had faith that I could handle things. 

Our childhood becomes a part of who we are, what grows our hearts and souls. I love being with and doing things with my own grandchildren, just like grandma Carswell did with me.
Summertime has officially arrived and I’m right in the middle of five grandkids as we settle in to watch Madagascar 3 at the local theater.  My older granddaughters were visiting for ten days and Gramps and I had a blast…..including the cousins whenever possible! We watched the 7 year old play ball on his All Star baseball team and spent hours in the pool with the Fab Five. Early morning, all afternoon, nighttime swims…..good thing they all keep a handful of suits at G & G’s house!  All five kids have learned to love the water in “Grandpa’s pool!”

The three older kids tried our community pool where they dived off the high boards……..pretty cool experience! The twins loved having a turn to spend the night; the older girls sharing makeup tips with the younger one and her twin brother holding his own with laugh out loud jokes and comedy routines!

The best moments were unplanned.....for every photo opportunity I had……there were serendipity moments that I captured in my heart.  Gramps and I would nudge each other as two or more kids snuggled in front of TV, offered  to clean our pantry , played Scrabble with my Flower, petted horses in a nearby pasture,  went outside waaaaaaay past bedtime to swirl nightsticks in the dark, or when one came into our room at 2 AM to say they’d had a nightmare! The teenager and twins cracking up at the same jokes; the 7 year old explaining to his older cousins how something worked!

Two funny things…….I admonished the bunch not to fuss at or hit each other while swinging their nightsticks……then smacked one right in the forehead to kill a mosquito! Ooooops!  Sorry, Dolly. 
They were so excited to swim at the cousins’ pool….but then spent the whole time finding and saving trapped frogs and tadpoles……..the photo says it best!

The biggest memory maker was getting Burney! The girls have 3 cats and a dog back home in California……..and since we lost our cat two winters ago…..they have wanted us to have another. So off we went to the Animal Shelter and adopted a handsome, friendly little guy who had been there for six months. From the moment we brought him home, they held him, played with him and loved him! They helped the Littles become comfortable with him and get used to his darting here and there and everywhere ….full of energy and curiosity!  Imagine G & G’s home filled with a 14yo, 10yo, 7yo and two 4yo’s….all of us entranced by this new addition to our family.   Priceless!

 Having the girls here meant so much……our house is filled with memories for them from when they lived here and from past summer and holiday visits! They love to reminisce and hear family stories!  Sometimes they’d go from sisterly squabbles to mature savvy shoppers!  I loved the spur-of-the-moment visit to the Mall where I had a peak into the future as these two young ladies considered price, quality and whether they really needed it! But it also reminded me to enjoy them as they are RIGHT NOW!  They are both off to uncharted territory this fall as they enter High School and Middle School!  

We've ridden horses, toured the aquarium, ice and roller skated, jumped at the bouncy places and learned to paddleboard together. This summer, the younger ones can join us for outdoor adventures like hiking and kayaking. Another fun thing to try is zip-lining.....so if the big girls are willing, I'm going to be too!

I always say I learned to be a loving, attentive and involved grandma from my own grandmother! I loved going to her house for weeks at a time all the way through college…………..so I’m hoping these honey bunnies will want to keep coming back every summer no matter how old they get!

I’m sharing this post for the Grandmother Power Blogging Campaign, inspired by Tara Mohr and Paola Gianturco who are focusing on the collective power of grandmothers and older women all across the globe. Any blogger can contribute in the weeks ahead; tell us about women who have touched your life.