There was a time when Spring Break rolled around that we as a family would pack all of our stuff and head out for a trip, normally to the beach.
Not the case this year or for the past several. Instead, we worked at the office while the employees with children spent some some quality family time together.
Despite not taking a trip, we had fun over the weekend. For the first time we were asked to babysit for granddaughter Anne Caroline. Daughter Anna Lauren and son-in-law Brooks went to a wedding at the Treehouse in Mendenhall. The bride was one of Anna Lauren’s buds, who was actually her proxy bride when she got married. Have you ever heard of such--a proxy bride? To make matters worse, I know what that is. It is a girl who fills in for the bride so the bride can watch the wedding practice to make sure everything is the way she wants it.
These girls! All you can do is grin and bear it.
But Anna Lauren’s trip meant that Nancy and I would have our first opportunity to get Anne Caroline for the night.
Boy, did we have a big time at “Grand Camp”! Fancy, as Nancy likes to be called, Poppie (that would be me) and AC had dinner that evening-- steaks with salad and mashed potatoes.
We don’t have a high chair so Fancy got out a boiler, flipped it upside down and instructed me to shed my belt. We set AC on the boiler, fashioned my belt around her and buckled her to the chair. I assure you, much worse was done to me as a child and besides, the parents weren’t there to object.
That kid loves steak so we had a big time. Well, bedtime is normally after the bath, which is slated for 7 p.m. Not so at Grand Camp-- bedtime is as late as you are willing or able to stay up.
I must admit it was not long after AC went to bed that Poppie did also. So when I heard that little voice at 5 a.m. the next morning, I was ready to be there instantly. Five a.m. is my regular time to get up anyway so AC and I got up together. I think we watched Super Man, though I’m not sure if it was she or I who wanted to watch it. A few minutes later Fancy comes to the den to join us. We had snacks and milk. What a way to start the day.
Brook’s mother, Rhonda Baldwin, has had the chance to keep AC on several occasions. She is like the super grandmother who does all the fun stuff. So while Nancy and I were at the Viking Cooking School a couple of weeks ago, I found a skillet that makes pancakes in the shape of a bear’s face. Thinking that I could outdo Rhonda on the fun stuff, I made AC a bear-shaped pancake with blueberry eyes and a blueberry nose. I covered it with powdered sugar and topped that off with butter and syrup. After all, what harm could all that stimulating sugar do? I was leaving to go to church anyway.
Nancy skipped Sunday School because Anna Lauren and Brooks were going to pick up AC and head home to Memphis.
Well, this spring break was a little different, but in our current stage of life I think I kinda liked it. And the good news is they are coming back for Easter! More Grand Camp!
