Sunday, July 24, 2011

Why Nana Hasn't Posted For a Few Weeks


This is the reason that I haven't posted for the past few weeks.  I'm in Austin, Texas with my granddaughters.  I borrowed my five year old granddaughter's laptop to write this.  I'm in Austin because we wanted the girls to have swimming lessons and since both their parents work, the only way that was going to happen was if Nana drove them back and forth each day.

For the past few weeks I have been the director of Camp Nana.  My sole responsibility is to keep my granddaughters, ages four and five, constructively occupied.  They have kept me running from morning to night.

Every morning we go to swimming lessons.  The girls have back to back lessons and I sit under the canopy with the parents and grandparents and cheer every accomplishment of  our respective charges. 

After swimming lessons we go home for lunch and then to the neighborhood pool for more swimming.  Despite gallons of sun screen, all three of us are quite tan.  The girls practice swimming and are dangerously confident in the water.

Late afternoon we go home to work on projects.  We have painted sun catchers and wooden princesses, done paper mosaics, and decorated cards with glitter.  Despite numerous cleanings it is still impossible to cross the kitchen floor barefoot without getting sparkly feet.  When the creative juices are flowing the glitter seems to just fly!

We don't ignore the culinary arts at Camp Nana.  Faithful readers will recall that Nana isn't especially skilled in this area.  Fortunately four and five year olds do not have discriminating palates.  We successfully made scrambled eggs and instant chocolate pudding, but not at the same meal!

We've taken field trips at Camp Nana, mostly to local play areas.  It has been over 100 every day in Austin, so last Thursday we went to the play area at the mall.  When it's 103 if Nana isn't sitting in a cool pool of water, it better be some place air conditioned.  The girls enjoyed the play area and Nana enjoyed sitting on an upholstered bench in a fully climate controlled area.

Last week one of the girls asked "Nana, tomorrow can we stop at the blow up kitty and take pictures?  So, the next day I pulled into the parking lot of the cat hospital and we all piled out of the car and took the picture above.  The blow up kitty is a lot bigger in person than it appears when you drive by it on the way to swimming lessons.  Tomorrow we're going to take pictures with the giant wild animals at the dental office.  It's true that everything is big in Texas...in Austin it's giant animal yard art!

So, that's why I haven't posted.  I am at the mercy of two little girls.  There are only so many summers in a childhood, and Nana doesn't want to miss any of them.

I'll be back to my regular posting schedule next week.

Jann aka Nana

10 comments:

  1. My favorite image: "...it is still impossible to cross the kitchen floor barefoot without getting sparkly feet."

    Grandmotherhood is like the best drug ever! We can't get enough of it; we'll hurt ourselves for more of it; there are prices to pay, but we can't help it. We're hooked.

    Go indulge your little addictions, darlin', and try not to hurt yourself!

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  2. I didn't realize how big that kitty really is until I took a closer look and saw the grands under it! I'm so glad you are having fun with them, and like you said: there are only so many summers in a childhood. And it's great that they are such avid swimmers!

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  3. Oh, what a wonderful excuse for not posting! I can't wait to have little grands to spend time with. You made Camp Nana sound like the best deal ever. What lucky little girls they are!

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  4. It is good to hear that Nana is being Nana. This is what summer is for. Enjoy the time. Treasure the memories.

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  5. I paid for my granddaughters' swimming lessons for two years when they were five and six because I'm a believer that kids need to be able to at least tread water until the lifeguard gets there with a life preserver. However, I lived 400 miles away so the Grandpa got the pleasure of the daily drive.

    Sounds like you're having an exhilarating, exhausting time. Enjoy!

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  6. Have fun! I want to go to Camp Nana too!! Enjoy those beautiful little ones:)

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  7. Sounds like a very busy but incredibly fun time for all of you. Oh & glitter is the spawn of the devil, I swear the stuff breeds overnight ;-)

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  8. Nana, heaps of blessings on you for taking on this project in July in Texas. You must love those little girls an awful lot. The thought of Texas in July causes me to have flashbacks. I don't love anybody enough to endure Texas in July.

    My son just had surgery for skin cancer. When I asked how he managed that in Oregon he had been told it went back to the years he lived in Texas as a child. He's very fair skinned and blonde.

    I'll be glad when I know you're back home and cool again.

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  9. You've made me wish I could attend Camp Nana. The sparkles and the big blow-up kitty pushed me right over the edge. So glad to hear you're having a magical summer.

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  10. Real life can be a wonderful thing. I'm glad you are enjoying yourself...

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