Grandkids and Gardening

I woke up this morning to the sound of my five-year-old granddaughter's voice asking Grandpa to tickle her. I have not been that content that early in the morning in a long time. The world has gone mad, but there are some things that remind me what is important.

We are still in the staging lane waiting for things to open back up so we can get on with our summer routine. Most campgrounds in our area are closed as we wait for the park, we work for, to reopen. We spend each day assessing a very fluid Plan B to get us through this transition time.

The whole country is struggling to feel normal. Graduation and Wedding Season has been unceremoniously (no pun intended) swept to the curb and everyone reaches as far as they can to try to grasp something each day that makes them feel grounded.

For me it is gardening and grandkids. My mind has been in a swirl like most full time RV’ers trying to focus as best they can right now. We all feel like an old grocery store bag snagged in a tree whipping in the wind not knowing where we will end up. I stay in contact with others around the country who are living the same nightmare my husband and I are. Gradually we are all getting to a place where we are starting to bring our new reality to fruition and finding our grounding point. We are constructing our contingency plans and hoping our old normal will reemerge soon.

I went to my friends place yesterday and helped her with some spring yard work. Aside from the fact that she is one of my dearest friends, she also lives in the woods, so I had the birds and timber sounds serenading me as I cleaned flower beds and spread mulch around perennials that are starting to poke their heads up. My soul was the most content it has been in weeks. Later that afternoon, as I scrubbed the dirt out from under my fingernails, one of our grandkids arrived to spend the night. Their parents and us agreed we have all been disconnected enough to warrant an overnight visit. A much-needed break for the kids who have been sequestered for 6 weeks with her and a dream come true for us just like a lot of grandparents in the times we live in. We had a great night outside in the mild weather riding bikes, taking walks, and letting her take pictures with her new kid camera. The Polaroid has made a comeback in the form of a youth camera. Who’d have thunk it?

It is amazing to witness the growth the young grandkids achieve in the 5 months we are absent in the winter. Suddenly, they can tie their own shoes or read a book to me instead of the other way around.

In the upside-down world of the full time workcamper the past 48 hours has been just what the doctor ordered for this one.

Until next time…