Grandson Fun

How is your summer going? In Florida, we are quite hot and this past week the Saharan dust cloud finally reached us. The hazy sky apparently means beautiful sun rises but this grandma, rarely sees the sun coming up so I’ll have to trust the experts on that one.

For the past few years, we’ve held Mimi Camp each year. The two granddaughters will come for a week and on a different week the two grandsons will be here.

The weeks are busy with lots of activities, crafts, swimming, staying up late, playing games, baking cookies, riding bikes and scooters, playing backyard softball, etc. But the tradition had to be changed up a bit this year due to…well, you-know-what!

A few weeks ago, we held our first mini-camp when we went to visit the girls for several days during the work week. It was wonderful to spend that time with the girls as we hadn’t seen them since Christmas. And it also gave their parents some more focused time for work. Win-win. I hope to hold another mini-camp for them later this summer.

This past week it was the boys’ turn to spend a few nights with us. It was a little challenging this year because the pottery place isn’t open so that was off the table. And our community pool was also not available to anyone other than residents. But in Clermont, we have a treasure in our beautiful lakefront.

So, two of the three days were spent there swimming in the red water. No kidding. It’s actually quite red from the tannins released by the surround cypress trees. Doesn’t hurt the swimmer and it’s very cool to look at. Plus, it’s nicely warm which this Mimi prefers.

Our fun craft was making a patriotic flag out of paint stirrers. Each of the boys made their own…just in time for Independence Day.

The boys’ mini-camp will also be repeated in a month or so. Hopefully, this time, our pool will be available to them. But if not, Lake Minneola awaits.

When you have a minute, please comment and let me know what you’re this summer with your own grands.

Love, Mimi

Is my whole life “pending?”

Sitting down to do some computer work this morning, I found myself opening various file folders where I had stored items for a future looksee.

First up were two different iPhone dumps. This is where I temporarily store iPhone pictures every so often so I can get them off my phone. Sitting in a labeled file folder on my desktop, I know right where they are and can easily access them when ready. And when I am “at the ready” I delete most, rename the ones I’m keeping, then store them in the appropriate file folder in another location. Easy peasy.

Most of my other file folders have very specific functions as well. But then there’s my PENDING folder. This is truly a dump folder. Upon opening it today, I discovered recipes I want to try, research on a water filtration system I no longer need, a sweet note I kept from my daughter-in-law, a craft idea I hope to work on in the future, some ideas for a future Florida drive vacation, the drawing course I downloaded from Great Courses, and a host of other items too diverse to properly file at this point, but nevertheless things I want to hold on to.

Looking through that folder made me realize I have a lot of other pending items in my life. And it’s time to work on them. Greg and I really do need a get-away and a driving trip is probably the easiest to plan and the quickest to execute. So why haven’t I done anything about it?

And those recipes are calling out to me as I so often find myself preparing the “same old” stuff night after night and it’s as boring to eat as it is to prepare.

And the craft idea? Oh please. I have way too many hopes of turning trash into treasure and receiving accolades galore at my creativity.

Have I done anything at all from my pending list? Well, yes, I have. I made two blanket ladders as Mother’s Day gifts to my girls. I have tried a recipe or two. And I have the start of a Florida driving trip planned out.

So, I’m not condemning myself, I’m just realizing, I have fewer years ahead than I have behind me. And to-lists and bucket list items are great, but now is the time to put them into action.

So, the immediate course of action is to review the pending file often and start making plans I intend to follow through on. That means new meals for Greg (I think I hear a big cheer from him), hopefully a fun road trip to explore new places in the next month or two, and time put aside to finally learn to draw something other than stick figures.

How about you? What’s on your to-do list or in your own pending file?

Mimi