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Grandchildren Visit

The past four days have been taken up entirely with with entertaining grandchildren. Not only did my daughter have a four day "break" so she could attend to some remodel projects on their house, but she will probably get at least an extra day while the kids sleep for 18 hours straight--which is what I certainly plan to do. Gotta believe they are just as wiped out as I am! We went shopping; we went swimming; we baked; we read stories; we watched movies; we went for walks; we did art projects; we played dolls and trucks and ball; we made some of our "favorite" foods (spaghetti, hamburgers, hot dogs, BLTs, popcorn, watermelon, and blueberries); we went out for ice cream; we went to the playground. One of us went four days without a bottle--well, two of us, but I plan to make up for that now, then sleep for that 18 hours.
I remember going to my grandparents for a week (just me) for a treat or them coming to take over looking after us for a week when my parents had pressing business--like giving birth to a younger sibling, which in those days was a week long hospital stay. I definitely do not remember my grandmother varying her usual routine in any major way and she was a little stern. She would let me help with laundry and dusting and maybe watch her cooking. She taught me how to set a table and the "proper" way to do dishes. We did go shopping, though, and she did at least once buy me shoes that my mother never would have--black patent leather MaryJanes that were actually a size too small but I really, really loved them. My grandfather was the one who told me funny stories and made little toys and taught me how to dance the polka.
My own parents were great with their grandchildren. They took my kids on big trips, but they also made so many everyday memories for them. It's a family tradition I'd like to keep going.

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