Itinerant Grandma

Itinerant Grandma

If it was the 1800's, I could easily be plodding along in my covered wagon, hoping to make it to California in less than 2 years!!!!  Everything I own is loaded in the back, complete with surprises for the grand kids, medicine kit, cleaning supplies, pots n pans and food of course.  Blistering heat, bone-chilling cold, rain, sleet, snow, fording rivers, intimidating Indians on the fringes of the horizon.   A history making trip!!!

Fast forward to the 21st century!  Now I just google the weather at my destination, pack my suitcase accordingly,  complete with surprises for the grand kids, medicine for those who need it, and wipes and Kleenex.  Then off to the airport, giving hubby instructions as he drops me off at the airport.  I then board a long, metal tube with 150 plus people and in a little over 4 hours...I am in California...or Oregon, whatever the case may be!  How far we have come!

The last 3 weeks for this itinerant Grandma disappeared in a blur!!!  The original plan was for me to fly to San Diego after Amber flew out with Xander and Eliana to visit for about 10 days.  Thus giving Amber a helping hand on the long flight with two little rug-rats!

Needless to say, in this family, plans are made only as guidelines...no rules apply!!!  On a Sunday afternoon, Justin sends me a SOS text...this is not an "Amber Alert", this is a Mom/Grandmother alert!!!  The Elisha Foundation Retreat would begin on Thursday and I was needed to supervise the children's program.  The couple who were scheduled had a death in the family and would be unable to help.

Okay, then!!!!  Think quickly and carefully as I begin to pack for Oregon...cold nights, chilly days.  But also consider that I would be leaving Oregon for San Diego...warm days, cool nights... when Retreat was over!  And at the same time, do the things Amber and I had planned with the kids!  Not to mention thinking about the lessons I would be teaching for the retreat, coming up with a schedule and organizing the kids into groups!

I got it all done in 2 days and was ready for lift off...literally!  Nice benefit this time around...I had a real ticket!  No stand-by flying!  It was a long flight though.  Depart Charlotte at 3:30 pm...no getting up at 4 am!!!!  Arrive in Atlanta 40 minutes later, enjoying dinner and people watching for 2 1/2 hours.  Then on to Portland, OR, arriving there at 7:30 pm (PST time...10:30 pm EST time).  A quick stop to grab a bite to eat and then a road trip over the mountains to Bend, OR where Justin lives.

It was cold and rainy over the mountains, but it was beautiful to see the snow that had fallen, covering the branches of the trees.  The roads were clear and safe which was a good thing.  It was a long 3 hour drive and I fell asleep for about an hour of that.  Arrival at Justin's...1:30 am (4:30 for me and our other guest, Greg, who flew out to teach the adults.)  We survived and were up and loading the vehicles fairly early the next morning.  Onward to Lake Creek and the beginning of Retreat!

It was helpful that I had been to this particular venue for a retreat prior to this time.  I knew how small the room would be for 24 kids...not conducive to organized calm!  The first night is usually not the smoothest anyway!  With 10 4-5 year olds plus 10 6-11 year olds, I wasn't sure how that would work during story time.  (We also had 8 babies and 3 teens but they were not always in the room with us!) It was utter chaos that first night but there were moments of quiet and the kids actually did very well during the Bible story and when I read a book to them.  Which was a surprise when the age span was so spread apart.

We did make a change for craft time and game time though.  We split up the age groups into 2 colored teams and that way we could do crafts much easier in our small space and also keep track of the kids better when we went outside for games.  That made a world of difference.

Praise the Lord for beautiful sunny weather and it was actually not too cold during the day!  The kids loved the Treasure Hunt, and the playground and swimming pool were big hits.  The camp fire was a fun time as they got to make s'mores.

It is always so hard to say good-by when we end retreat.  All of the hugs from the kids, the enjoyment of reading to them, with some standing close by or sitting on my lap...love it!!!!  What sweet parents they all have and I know for them, it was a time of refreshment and relaxation as well as reigniting the desire to be a godly parent to all their children.

A side benefit for me is working with my 5 grand kids for this retreat and their parents!  They are all growing up so fast and are developing such servants' hearts.  I loved hearing their voices holler for Grandma as we did crafts or whatever!

Let's lug these suitcases back to the airport now and catch a flight to San Diego, via Salt Lake City...my multi-city ticket was nice to have this time!  No wondering when and if I would arrive!

First stop this trip...my sister, Heather.  I stayed 4 days with her and had a great time.  We drove out to the desert to check on two of my brothers who are renovating my grandparents old house in the middle of a sand pile!  Many memories of visiting them there and having Thanksgiving there too.  It was a cold windy, foggy day but I love the desert.  Good times!

Now off to spend 3 days with Amber and Jordan (They had flown back home from Charlotte after I had left.)  We did some shopping and eating and playing with babies again!  We were able to get all 3 daughters and our future daughter-in-law and her son together to go to the Pumpkin Patch at a dairy farm.  That was fun!  The kids loved the baby pigmy goats!

Now it is party time!!!!  Cash Ryan Tanner turned one year old on October 12th!  Abigail & JT had a fun party at the park, complete with a Taco Truck!  It was fun to visit with some of their special friends and see more family, my baby sister, Melissa and her hubby for one.

Time to visit Abby and give Cash some of my attention...briefly as I was getting ready for another retreat!!!  This one was in Carlsbad,  just about an hour north of San Diego at the Sheraton Resort, a mile from the beach!  What an awesome venue for this retreat!  We had two ballrooms to use...adults in one, children in the other.  The food was outstanding, the service amazing and the weather awesome!  Ten more families to minister to and love on.  About the same number, same age grouping.  Such sweet, lovable kids!  They were so much fun!  The Treasure Hunt was a hit again and so was the swimming pool!  We had free time one day and enjoyed another Taco Truck at a park just down the road.  Delicious!  We also finished up our last morning at the park for our Bible lesson as the Resort had double booked our room for that last morning!  New experience but the kids did well listening and singing.  Once again, hard to say good-by, especially to 3 young girls who have been to retreats before and this time were volunteers...my "adopted" granddaughters...I had forgotten they liked to call me "Grandma"...so sweet to my ears!

God has supplied so abundantly... three retreats in one month!!!!  We had a retreat in South Carolina the middle of September with 10 families attending.  I had an easy group...just 8 or 9 kids.  There were 16 in the nursery/preschool group in the room next to us!  More friends were made and couples encouraged.  I missed having my grand kids there and my dearest daughter-in-law.

This mother's heart was overflowing after retreat when all 3 daughters - Amanda, Abigail and Amber were able to have lunch with son, Justin and his crew before they left for home.  Not all 6 kids together but still meant a lot to see them all together.  Plus friends who helped at retreat.  Of course lunch was at my favorite place...Extraordinary Desserts!  They have the best grilled cheese sandwiches!!!

All this traveling, partying and playing had to come to an end!  Back home to Charlotte to re-group, clean house, do laundry, answer mail, sew and get ready for ...Thanksgiving and Christmas shortly after!

The Itinerant Grandma (or Gacky, as Xander says!!!)