Learning To Ride!

Drew never learned to ride a bicycle...until now. A very good friend of his Mom was kind enough to coach him one evening after they purchased a new bike at WalMart along with a helmet.

They started out in front of their home on the sidewalk. Watching the phone video of him wiggling all over on his new bike was so funny! There were a couple of times that he started to tip but was "caught" just in time.

A little tilt to the left and a tilt to the right....

And 30 minutes later behind his school...

Amazing how quickly kids can learn!

I told him that we should go looking for my old bike in the barn. I think it's somewhere in there. The last time I saw it was about 10 years ago.

Drew has reservations though. He just can't see me riding a bicycle. You see, I am too old. I couldn't possibly remember how to ride a bicycle after 10 years.

Drew, we shall see if I am too old. We shall see....

Mai

Decorating Drew's Walls

I don't manage my time very well. At least it seems that way now.

I remember hearing my elders go on and on about how the older they get, the faster time seems to fly by. Is this what is happening? I'm getting old? Noooo!

I'm just not as organized as I used to be though. So I decided to analyze this situation a little.

I started with "the list". I made this list of the things I needed to try to accomplish that day. I used to be a person that ran around with a Day Runner all the time and had my days planned by the hour. I somehow managed to put checks by each of those accomplishments too!

My lists now almost never get checks by each "to do" entry on my list.There are always "carry overs" into the next day (and sometimes the day after the next day and the day after that day and on and on....). Where did I lose my organizational skills?!

Well, one of the projects that had been on my list for the summer was to finish Drew's walls. We did it! Finally! Well, maybe not all the walls. We took so long at completing this project that there have been several changes to the original plans. So, instead of all walls depicting dinosaurs, it will be 2 walls depicting dinosaurs, 1 wall featuring a safari scene and 1 wall featuring a farm scene. I wonder how long it will take to complete the rest of the walls? Hopefully before he gets his driver's license!

Finishing his walls has been fun though. Haba drew chalk outlines of trees, clouds and a volcano with a lava flow. Drew and I painted the outlines and applied the wall decals. And here is the "grand finis".

Drew's masterpiece volcano scene

Prehistoric chaos!

His clouds are better than mine...

That was great fun Drew! And you're my favorite artist.

Mai

Day Four and I'm Getting Better At This...

Day four of Day Camp! I woke up to a spectacular lightening and thunder show. After coffee, I rustled Drew out of bed. Unlike his mother, Drew is a breeze to wake up in the morning. I have only known one time that he woke up without a smile. His mother was the exact opposite! I used to tell her that payback will be coming her way when she becomes a mother...I guess that payback isn't coming her way yet.

I realized that his rain jacket is at his home so we borrowed Haba's rain poncho.

Drew: "What is that?"
Me: "A rain poncho!"
Drew: "Looks weird."
Me: "It's like a tent, don't you think? It'll keep you dry."
Silence from Drew but giving the poncho the stink eye.
Me: "Try it...you won't get drenched!"

It came down to his feet! He looked like a billowing, walking tent! I didn't laugh! Brownie point for me!

Out we went into the pouring rain to get to the minivan. Of course he's walking down our very narrow garden path towards the gate and the driveway very slowly because now it seems so very cool that he's staying completely dry in the pouring rain. I am behind him...no poncho.

Drew's Rain Poncho

We enjoyed the spectacular lightening show during the drive to the Day Camp bus pick up point. Counselor is standing in the rain holding on to his Day Runner, checking campers in while balancing an umbrella. Rather neat umbrella I might add. It had characters from the movie "Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs" on it. When the umbrella gets wet (and trust me...it was wet) all these images of food magically appear. I think I want an umbrella that shows images of cats and dogs that appear when it gets wet.

Got home and crossed off a few more "things I must do because they need to be done but mostly I need to keep busy to adjust to not having Drew around all the time list". Tomatoes are canned, a few pints of bread and butter pickles are canned, two loads of laundry are done, water tested in the basement aquaponics system, emails checked and replied to, started (as in still not completed) filling out various forms for PCI DSS Compliancy (has it been a year already?), health insurance (has it been a year already?), license plate renewal (has it been a year already?) and filled out a questionnaire for "Federal Jury Duty" (never had to do this before).

I got a little sidetracked (is this the same as distracted?). There was a very interesting article about how dark chocolate may lower your blood pressure. In case you're interested, here's the article:  http://fox6now.com/2012/08/16/dark-chocolate-may-lower-blood-pressure/. The only disappointing part of this article was that they specify "eating a little dark chocolate each day may be good for you..." with the word "little" being the letdown. I also read that dark chocolate is believed to help ease depression by releasing serotonin.  Yes, I am a chocoholic.

I checked into another volunteer opportunity to start in September when Drew is back to school. I will have to start driving down to my daughter's and Drew's home to pick him up after school and care for him until his Mom's shift is over. So, I thought "why not find a volunteer opportunity that I can really learn something from?" I think I will volunteer at Growing Power in Milwaukee and perhaps I can learn how to take our little aquaponics system to the next level. It's on my way to his school too!

Of course I will continue with the our Meals on Wheels Wednesday delivery. I did meal deliveries yesterday sans camper Drew. He was sorely missed by the seniors on our route. I was inundated with inquiries about Drew's absence. The quieter ones would just peer behind me to see if he was hiding. I finished delivering in record time. Seems that conversations are a bit shorter when Drew is not around.

So, the days go by. Guess I can learn to get used to not having him around all the time after all. Hmmm, where did I put the rest of that dark chocolate bar.

DayCamp and AWOL Backpacks

Well, here we are! Day three of Drew at Day Camp! We are surviving!

I intentionally left some unfinished tasks last week so I could stay busy this week.

I probably should not have left quite so many tasks since I forgot to leave a little consideration for "Murphy's Law" of "If anything can go wrong, it will". Not a big deal....most were really something of an inconvenience or minor challenge. And the silver lining in the cloud here is that the days have been going by very quickly.

Drew's words for Day Camp is simply "Awesome". I am so glad he is enjoying his experience. It's so nice to have him playing with other kids. There was one minor occurrence yesterday though. Drew's rendition of "Murphy's Law" in action".

He was ready to catch the 7:45AM bus to Day Camp at the middle school parking lot with his backpack of all the necessary items strapped to his back. Swimming trunks and towel, jeans and long sleeve shirt, boots for pony riding, bug spray and lunch. All set! Check in with the counselor standing by the bus and sign the sheet, brief hug, check in with the counselor on the bus, stow the backpack under the seat, buckle the seat belt and off they go. I understand they make one more pickup before they reach their final destination at the camp.

The day flew by and there I was, back at the middle school parking lot at 5:30PM to pick up the happy camper. Before he is allowed off the bus, I have to show ID and sign the sheet again. Security is very tight but I really do appreciate this. When I sign the sheet, The counselor will hand me a "report" that tells me what he did that day, how he felt that day (very cute way of reporting this with emoticons that are circled to express "Happy, Silly, Sad, Tired, Mischievous, Excited, Frustrated, Worried, Sick or Feisty") and some space for "additional information". 

The counselor was quick to explain that Drew had forgotten his backpack on the bus that morning. Ah, yes. Drew and his seven year old boy attention span of approximately 7 minutes unless it's something that he's really interested in and then it's about 30 minutes. I think I actually read that young children's attention span on average is about a minute for each year of their age. Drew can live up to this claim at times...

He hops off the bus at camp and realizes about a minute after the bus has left that his backpack was still on the bus! Panic! He told the counselor about his dilemma and they called the bus company to report that there was a backpack left on the bus. He got a little tearful when they went to the pool for their swim session and there he was with no swimming trunks. Not to worry! They came up with a pair of clean trunks and a towel for him. Problem solved! Lunch time came and he has no lunch.The staff came up with a sandwich and chips for him! Problem solved (even if he did have to remove the tomato slices from the sandwich)! Pony riding session came along in the afternoon and no boots! Extra boots are available and he got to wear a pair of "snakeskin" boots that he thought were really cool (but he was sure that I would not have even wanted to touch them since I am not a fan of snakes and he knows it!). I thank the camp staff for all their help at getting him through the little trials of the day.

Sometime during the day, the bus company called back to tell the camp staff that there was no backpack left on the bus. So, Drew got this news and he worried. He knew he had his backpack on the bus! The staff then told him that he had probably thought he had his backpack on the bus but he had probably left it at home or in my minivan. Under the "additional information" section of the daily camp report I received at pick up was the brief phrase "Drew forgot his backpack today. We fed him, however, please make sure he has it. Otherwise, he was wonderful today. Very happy. Before we went to the pool, Drew started to cry because of forgetting his backpack" The Happy, Silly, Sad and Excited emoticons were circled.

The counselor was trying to rapidly explain that Drew got through the day just fine and the camp staff had called the bus company and the bus company had said there was no backpack left on the bus and when he boarded the bus at the end of the day, what should be under his seat? His backpack! Oh my! Thank goodness this is just a backpack and not a small child that fell asleep on the school bus that you hear about on the news! I thanked the counselor, gathered my grandson and his backpack and we climbed into the minivan for our trek home.  While crossing the parking lot, Drew was mumbling "they didn't believe me". When we were driving home, we had a talk about what happened.

It was interesting to find out that while he was distressed that he forgot his backpack, his bigger cause of distress was the fact that the counselors did not believe him when he knew and had insisted that he had it on the bus. He had reluctantly agreed with them that it must have been left in the mini van or at home.

Hmmmm. Lesson learned for Drew. This incident caused some inconveniences that were remedied with the help of the camp staff (thank you again camp staff!). I'll bet he does better at tracking his backpack to avoid these types of inconveniences in the future! See Drew...there are people that will help you if you just ask for help when you need it.

Lesson learned for Mai. Listen carefully to what the young ones are saying. The missing backpack was a minor issue.  Not as minor an issue is that Drew's faith in his counselors declined a little today because they wouldn't believe him. I think it may have been better if the staff left the focus on getting him through the day without all his things in his backpack. I don't believe they were trying to intentionally drive a point home to him by telling him that "he must have left it in the mini van or at home because the bus company said there was no backpack left on the bus" but I don't think it was a necessary for them to voice this conclusion to him. Maybe just a "Your backpack seems to be temporarily AWOL! Don't worry! We have a solution!" would have sufficed. And perhaps a call to me to let me know that Drew came to camp sans backpack?

Kids will be kids. It's just a backpack that was left on a bus because of a little over exuberance about getting to camp and some carelessness of a seven year old. But what if he were trying to tell a grown up that he was being bullied or worse. What if he were told that he must be wrong because the people he claims are bullying him said that they were not bullying him? What if he decides it's not worth telling someone about a situation because they "wouldn't believe me".

As one of the adults in my young grandson's life, I must be very careful to listen and not assume a conclusion too easily. I could have said the same things that the counselors told Drew. I am not immune to this pitfall. While a child can be unintentionally or intentionally wrong, I think that adults may be guiltier of this more than we realize.

When he was off to camp this morning, he was clutching his backpack as if it were his life. He also felt the need to remind me at least ten times that "this is Wednesday which means it's our day to deliver meals to the elderly. Don't forget to get the meals and deliver them Mai.". Thanks for the tenth reminder Drew! Meals got delivered and everyone wanted to know where you were. And by the way Drew, thanks for the lesson. It was a good one.

A Trial Period

Next week will be a trial period for me...Drew will be going off to Day camp everyday for a week.

I am so excited for him because this will be a wonderful end to summer and he will get to spend time with other kids his own age. But there is another side of me that will miss him during the day.

Since he was about 18 mos old, I have had the honor of being his caregiver while his single Mom was at work. When he started school, he spends his spring, summer and winter breaks with us which gives me a break from all the driving to and from his home to my home (not to mention savings on gasoline!). He sees his Mom on her days off from work and I cannot help but feel the silence as soon as they leave our driveway on these days. I relish the quiet for about 10 minutes and then I find both my husband and I are making remarks such as "Boy! Did it quiet around here or what?" or "Miss the little guy....".

Well, school will be starting again in a few short weeks and we will have to get used to not having him around the farm except on weekends that his Mom is working. So, maybe Day Camp will be a good thing for me. It may help me to gradually adjust to the "empty nest" syndrome.

So, what will I do next week when he is gone all day? I guess I can catch up on some work, like cleaning the basement, canning some of the tomatoes that are suddenly appearing in abundance,  go to lunch with friends, and give my husband a hand at the shop. Of course there's always something to do around what we affectionately call "the high maintenance farm".

It will just be soooo quiet though. No spontaneous hugs and "Mai, I love you". No discussions on remodeling the chicken coop, how big the pumpkins are getting in his pumpkin patch, what silly Patrick said to Spongebob, what job I will have at the Zoo he will have when he grows up or how we will move all our animals to Texas when we all move there one day (Drew's idea...very big one I might add).

Feeding fruit scraps to chickens and Star

Well, I adjusted to his mother leaving the coop...I know the day will come when we will see Drew less and less as he grows into his teen years and then on to being an adult. This is good. This is why we are here as parents and grandparents. We are supposed to help them grow into adults that make good choices and are independent.

So, I will settle for being grateful that we have such a wonderful opportunity to help our daughter raise Drew and that we have been gifted with being able to spend so much time with him for now.

But it will be soooo quiet.....

Mai

Everyday Role Models

Our Grandson, Drew, is very fortunate to have so many positive role models in his life.  One of them is his grandfather. It has been fascinating and heartwarming to see how they have formed a bond over the years that I know will never end. Most days are very "ordinary" and yet the time my husband spends with Drew will be "extraordinary" for both of them forever.

 They spend a lot of “guy time” together and I have even heard Drew refer to his Haba’s (grandfather) office and garage as “the man cave”.  I am not banned from these "man caves" but I only go to these areas when they need cleaning (and they always need cleaning). I have to admit that I find myself voluntarily staying out of these places most of the time. 

I find it amusing and sweet that Drew will even dress according to the "dress code of the day" set by Haba. If Haba wears shorts and an old tee shirt, Drew wears shorts and an old tee shirt. If Haba wears jeans with holes in them and sneakers, Drew will wear jeans (must have holes in them!) and sneakers.

On Saturday, they went to a car swap meet where they walked for hours around a dusty field checking out old car parts, anything related to cars and a wide variety of “toys for boys”. 

After they came home from the swap meet, they repaired our deck under “Haba’s tree”. Some of the boards had rotted out and needed to be replaced. This is a favorite hangout for them where they sit and watch deer or cranes in the fields, cool off after working under the hot sun on a project, eat a meal on a balmy summer evening or roast marshmallows in the outdoor fireplace. 

Lessons on using the cordless drill

Tearing up the rotting boards

Sunday was a little more work on the greenhouse where Drew got a little distracted and ended up busy putting together a bench in the greenhouse for us to sit on. The greenhouse is one of our many “works in progress” that we are still hoping to complete by this fall. We are planning on an aquaponics greenhouse which Drew has taken a great interest in. He tells Haba about how he thinks we should buy a golf cart so he can take people on tours. You would think we have hundreds of acres instead of just three acres!

Putting in the grow beds

Drew's bench

 At dinner, Haba tells Drew that he wants to see him eat everything on his plate since he worked hard today and needs to eat to replenish his energy. Yes, he did eat everything on his plate…including the green beans. 

Then, a little time spent sitting under Haba’s tree on the newly repaired deck with a little dose of goofiness.

Goofy Boys

Goofy Grandson

There’s popcorn, shaved ice and a movie that gives me a little quiet time to go through some paperwork in my office. Some of the shaved ice spilled on the couch which I latter learned was cleaned up very quickly and quietly by Haba and Drew. I could tell when the movie was over from the noisy din coming from the other end of our home when the two guys had a little “rough housing” before heading off to bed. 

Weekends definitely go by too fast! Thank goodness memories last a lot longer.

Mai

And a Little more on Teaching Compassion

I read an excellent article written by Susan Adcox titled "Volunteering for Kids: How Grandparents Can Help". She writes about how volunteering needs to be developed early, and how volunteering can be a wonderful opportunity for both grandparents and grandchildren. There is a section that discusses how to find and select a volunteer activity that is age appropriate also.

Not all volunteer opportunities need to be a long term commitment. Susan mentions picking up litter on a trail or a park as one of the ideas for a volunteer opportunity. I remember taking along a couple of plastic bags on our walks when my grandson was four years old and we would pick up litter that we would find along the way. He would beam when he got a "thank you" from the neighbors.

Drew and I will be mailing some cards this week to shut-ins as a follow through to Pam O'Halloran program, "The Forgotten Ones: International Card Exchange for the Elderly". I also think I will introduce this program to Drew's new teacher this fall to see if he/she would be interested in having the class write letters to shut-ins in nursing homes in the USA and overseas this year. It would be a great way to learn about volunteering, practice writing skills, learn a little geography and develop a lot of compassion!

Mai

More On Teaching Compassion To Our Grandchildren

 I have been following posts on Facebook written by Pam O'Halloran who started a community page on Facebook titled "The Forgotten Ones: Compassion for the Elderly".  It is really a heartwarming community page that I hope everyone will visit and "like".

Recently, she posted a link to an excerpt from a short film created by Dean Kalman Lennert titled "Dear Anna Olson" that I have shared below. It is a beautiful, touching excerpt that will motivate anyone to remember the elderly with a little act of kindness.

The creator of the film was motivated to create this film by a note he found tied to a balloon in 1988 in upstate New York. It had traveled all the way from Ohio.

Pam O'Halloran has another community page on Facebook that encourages readers to send cards, letters, photos or even small gifts for the lonely and forgotten elderly around the world. I  think this is another terrific project to get kids involved in. If you have been trying to think of  something to do with your grandchildren that is fun, creative, generous and a character education (with a little geography lesson thrown in too!),  visit "The Forgotten Ones: International Card Exchange for the Elderly". If you scroll way down the page, you will find addresses of nursing homes around the world. I am sure everyone has a nursing home or two in their community with lonely seniors that would love to get a card in the mail too.

Well, we're off to design some cards to mail out!

Mai

Teaching Compassion To Our Grandchildren

I believe that we all hope that our grandchildren (and children) grow up to have compassion and empathy for others. I believe this is best taught when they are young through example so these values are embedded in them for life.

So, I decided that my grandson is old enough to volunteer some time to learn about compassion, empathy and community this summer. I started looking for some volunteer opportunities in May and chose our local Meals On Wheels program. For anyone that is not familiar with this program, it is a program that delivers meals to the elderly in our community Monday through Friday. They are the oldest and largest national organization composed of and representing local, community based Senior Nutrition Programs in all 50 State.The seniors receive complete, balanced, hot meals with a cold bag meal if requested too. There is no charge for these meals but a donation is requested monthly for those that are willing and able to donate for their meals.

The reason I chose this program is because he has a fascinating ability to relate to elderly people. The grumpiest senior citizen will return a smile to him. We also have family members that live not to near us that benefit from this wonderful program and it is our way of repaying the benefits that this program provides these family members.

Many times, we are the only contact with the outside world that these seniors have so bringing along my grandson is always met with positive reactions since many of them rarely get to interact with children. All the seniors we deliver to live alone and transportation can be very challenging for them. Therefore, getting to the grocery store can be an additional challenge.  Many seniors in this situation will neglect to prepare nutritious meals for themselves due to depression that being lonely and isolated can bring on not to mention the loss of appetite that often accompanies depression. Many have special nutritional needs also that would not be met without a program like Meal On Wheels.

Volunteer deliverers are sometimes the "eyes and ears" for these seniors and may be the first ones to notice that something is not right. Recently, a volunteer noted that one of the seniors did not have air conditioning in the extreme heat that we were having. She had a window air conditioning unit but it was upstairs and she no longer used the upstairs portion of her home. This was reported, the adult son of senior was notified, and her window air conditioner was moved downstairs for her. This volunteer may have saved her life!

We are really enjoying our volunteer opportunity though and I know that my grandson is learning values that will stay with him for life. Added bonus? He gets to practice graciousness. One lady has already knitted him some slipper socks. He was absolutely gracious when she gave these wonderfully warm, wooly socks to him recently when it was 100+ degrees outside and he was thinking that it was too hot to wear anything but a pair of flip flops on his feet!

 

Lunch delivery!

I highly endorse volunteering with your grandchild/grandchildren. I promise that you will instill positive life time values, serve the community, lend a hand to someone that really could use a hand and spend some more valuable time with your youngest generation.

Mai

This post has been linked to GRAND Social linky.

Learning To Swim

Do your grandchildren know how to swim?

Last year my daughter took Drew to a pool party. He watched other kids run and jump into the pool. So, naturally, he ran and jumped into the pool too. Just one little problem here. He can't swim.

Of course Mom to the rescue. She pulled him out and all was fine...well...maybe his Mom got another gray hair or two (@ my daughter - I told you about payback, didn't I?). Dear daughter was now determined to get him in swim class.

Since he spends the summer with us, we got him enrolled in the swim classes held at the Firemans Park Beach (a local swim pond). The instructors are all trained American Red Cross Certified Water Safety Instructors and he took two sessions of level 1 swim lessons.

Keep in mind that he is a kid that likes playing in the water but is running for a towel  if a drop of water gets on his face. And yes, he is (was) one of those kids that doesn't like getting his hair washed because the water might run down his face. By the end of session 1, he could stick his face in the water and "blow bubbles". By the end of session 2, he could open his eyes under water, float and very cautiously jumped off a platform with a life jacket on. Yes! He passed level one!

This year, I enrolled him in level 2. He is a different kid in the water this year. There are more kids in his class this year and I think the competitive spirit in him has helped him considerably. He can be very competitive and I noticed that when they start the class with a run around the pond to warm up, he will always come around the other side of the pond in the lead. So, when the other kids dive for a ring or jump off the diving board, he is not about to be out done!

He is now able to float on his back and front and can dive for rings that are tossed into water that is about chest deep. He also can "swim" out to the platform  with the assistance of a "noodle" (a long, colorful, foam tube that keeps the kids afloat while they fiercely kick towards the platform). What surprised me was when he climbed on the platform and dive bombed into the water with the noodle! After a couple of these dives, he was diving off the diving board with the noodle! Amazement! Finally, he jumped off the diving board...sans noodle! Shock and awe!! Of course, the instructors are in the water and there to help guide him back to the platform as he dog paddles like a puppy in the water for the first time. He even started to do a "twirling dive" by the end of this 45 minute class!

"Twirling Dive"

Okay, so we're not ready for the Olympics yet. But I have to say that if you have swim classes in your community, do enroll your grandchildren. In addition to being certified instructors, they are patient and energetic which makes swim lessons so much fun! And no one wants their precious grandchildren (or anyone's grandchild for that matter) to become a tragic statistic that we hear about in the news all too often.

And who knows? You might have an athlete participating in the Olympics! Laurels to you!

Mai

PS- Drew no longer comes out of the shower or bath with a dirty face! LOL!