June 13, 2021

SOME THINGS OLD, SOME THINGS NEW!

This photo is from June, 2015, on the day I surprised the four cousins with their very first smorgasbord for lunch.  By the time Sam and Eli were 6 and Charlotte about 5, we launched Camp Grandmama.  The first few years it involved Charlotte sleeping over, the three of them lined up in sleeping bags on the floor in the garage den.  Patrick and Julia would be here but when Camp Grandmama was in session, all usual limits on snacking, staying up late, and fun and games were suspended!

By 2015, Ezra was 5, Sam and Eli 10 and Charlotte 9 and we were ready to expand Camp Grandmama.  For the first time, the boys stayed in Nashville several days without their parents.  In this photo, they are wearing their 2015 camp t-shirts. They began putting on skits and having intense games of hide and seek all over the house. We took “field trips” and always drove downtown to see the tall buildings and tourists.

The second photo shows the Camp Grandmama kids in Chattanooga in June, 2019!   With three teenagers in the group for the first time, Heather helped me take this week to a new level. Since we both have compact cars, we rented a big SUV for our road trip. It was an amazing week in Nashville, Chattanooga and many points in between.

And then came 2020.  Remember the pandemic? For more than a year, we were limited to Sunday afternoon visits on Zoom.  The cousins still were able to talk and have fun, but there was no 2020 in person Camp Grandmama. I missed it terribly!

And then came 2021—and COVID vaccines! Ezra’s the only one still a bit too young to get the vaccine—but everyone else has had both doses.  This next weekend, we’re gathering in Nashville for the reunion Camp Grandmama!  Sam and Eli are 16 and I can’t imagine how much taller they’ve gotten over the past 15 months—Charlotte is 14, and I’ve gotten to see how she’s grown up this year.  Ezra is almost 11 and even on Zoom he looks much taller!Plans are almost finished—and we’re all looking forward to a fun-filled time!  Three requests from the campers—be sure to have apple chips (a favorite snack since the very first), salmon patties, and deviled eggs.  Check.  My favorite part will be those hugs!