The Ten Day Miracle
April 4, 2013

In 1996 Richard (he's my husband) and I had six grandchildren. We left the country for three years and when we returned in 1999 we had six more wonderful little beings who had made our children parents but whom we had never seen. We recognized them right away, however, because they all looked like each other. That year we took many trips here and there, mostly there, to get acquainted in hopes of becoming their favorite people. But trips were here with one, there with another and I felt something amiss, and it was. Their parents were always there. The children and I needed freedom from their parents so I devised a brilliant plan to get rid of them in a safe and respectable way. GRANDMA'S CAMP. Can you even imagine the excitement that this announcement created when I invited all of the children over five years of age to come and stay with me for ten days. The moms went crazy. Ten days in the summer without some of their posterity. I remembered as a mother that even when one child had an afternoon with  friend I felt like the house was empty. I instantly took on the stature of Mother Teresa, Jane Goodall and General Eisenhower and to my daughters and daughters in law I became the best Mother, Grandmother, and Superwoman on planet earth - and only for a ten day stint. That's fame in a real hurry. Joy reigned. Mine, the grandchildren's and their parents. We had perm-grin everywhere.

That first Grandma's camp was dazzling. I rented a 15 passenger van to cart us around and numbered everyone so they could count off before we started up the engine. We got up every morning and had scripture study, breakfast, play practice ( I wrote a little "Harry Potter" play which was a great hit because the book had just been released). We took a daily swim at our neighbor's pool, made a quilt for the Sacred Heat Charity, read "Where the Red Fern Grows" in the heat of the afternoon, had a carnival, went hiking in the back yard with His Royal Highness (Richard's preferred name for the grandchildren to call him) and put on a talent show doing crazy Boy Scout skits. The performance of 'Harry Potter' in our back yard won the hearts of their parents and our enduring neighbors who tried valiantly to appreciate the dramatic efforts of 'our' grandchildren. For ten days I dwelled in grandmother heaven. It seemed so much easier that when we had our eight children home for the summer. Maybe the secret to all this fun and good will is the TEN DAYS. I wonder now why we didn't have our children for just ten days in the summer. What was I thinking? !!!!