Thursday, July 31, 2014

Kenny and Tyler’s Visit - The Final Installment of a Five Week Long Series - Preserving Memories

For the Record
Kenny and Tyler’s Visit
June 22 - July 27, 2014

Writing this on Wednesday, July 30 & July 31



So, our grandsons’ last day with us was Thursday.  It’s hard to believe that they have been gone almost a week already.  

The five weeks now seem to be a blur.  They went by so fast.  

From the very beginning we quickly and naturally fell into a routine which was comfortable and accommodating for each of us.  

For the most part mealtimes were fairly easy.   
The bowls of Fruit Loops for breakfast had to contain equal amounts of cereal.  It was amazing how Tyler knew if his brother had even one more Loop than he did.   “Kenny has more than me,” was Ty’s standard morning observation.

Lunch time was peanut butter and jelly crustless sandwiches.  Grape for Kenny and strawberry for Tyler.  

Dinner time was whatever we decided would be on the menu, with a plate of food set aside for when Jimmy came home from work.

And always, always chocolate milk to drink in their own special glasses.  They had to remind me each time who got the red one and who got the blue one.

Ross would take them to the pool every day.   Even that became a standard routine.
It would start off by me yelling “Who wants to go to the pool?”  Most times the response would be a duet of “Me!”   Sometimes, though, one of them would say, and mostly in a whiney voice, “Aww, I don’t want to go to the pool.”   Usually, that would be Ty.  But as soon as Ty saw his brother getting his bathing suit on, grabbing his towel and his guest ankle bracelet,  he would immediately change his mind.

By the last week, I think I had a good insight into Kenny.   Everything he did revolved around how much time he could occupy until his father got home.  It was an interesting observation.
I understood that for Kenny, going to the pool meant using up two hours.  That meant two hours closer to when his father got home.  When he would ask to watch a movie or a tv show it was the same consideration for him.
It was really quite touching and a little heartbreaking at the same time.

Another issue for Kenny was staying close to home.  I think that also had to do with making sure he was there when Jimmy got home.

One of the things that we found a little challenging was finding ways to motivate the boys to leave, as they referred to it, “the neighborhood”.

One day last week we wanted to take them to the little zoo here in our area.  It’s really a rescue sanctuary for in crisis animals.  It’s called Popcorn Park Zoo.
We had been mentioning this to the kids since they first got here.  Neither one of them said they were interested.
So we I had to use a little trickery.
The day we picked to go, I told the boys that we were having workman come to the house and that we had to leave for a few hours.
It went something like this:
“Kenny, Ty, hurry up.  You have to get dressed. Quick, quick!  The workman will be here any minute now and we have to be out before they get here.”
They both started to run around and get dressed.
We were out the door within 10 minutes.
I kind of feel bad about that, but sometimes a grandma has to resort to such methods in order for her grandchildren to have fun.  :)
The zoo is a short 20 minute ride from the house.  When we pulled into the parking lot they both wanted to know, “What is this place?”
I told them that it was Pop-pop’s and my turn to work at the zoo.   We had to feed the animals.
“Oooo,” they said in unison.   “Can we help?”
“Well, okay,”  I said.  “I guess you can.”


So, even though they had to leave “the neighborhood” they had a great time.

By the middle of that final week, although he didn’t express it verbally, it was obvious by the increased number of times Tyler would FaceTime with his Georgia family that he was missing home.  

The last day, on Thursday, Jimmy brought his boat down.   He, Ross and Kenny went for a cruise around the bay.  Ty and I agreed that dry land was more our preference.

Back home, after the boat ride, there was a flurry of activity, packing the boys and Jimmy up.  They made sure that the presents that they picked out for their Mom and sisters went into the side pocket of the backpack.  The Minion hats I made went into the suitcase.   
I checked under the beds, dresser drawers and the bathroom to make sure they didn’t leave anything behind.  



But of course they did.  They left behind so many precious memories.






8 comments:

  1. Those are two precious children. I absolutely love your creativity in getting them out of "the neighborhood". I know you miss them terribly!

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  2. Wow, the time did go by fast! I'm sure they had a wonderful time and I know you'll treasure the time you had with them and think often of them as you settle back into whatever routine you'll get back to. It is good too that they seemed to enjoy the time except for perhaps the last week getting a bit antsy to get back home, but don't we all feel like that after we've been on vacation?

    betty

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    1. My intention is to have the posts that I wrote about their time here printed and bound. Part of preserving the memories.

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  3. Awww. I enjoyed that!

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  4. Sounds like all had a good time. But it also sounds like the boys were happy to go home. Hopefully you'll get a chance to do it all again soon.

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    1. Well the next time will probably be either Thanksgiving or maybe Christmas. Which will be here in a flash!

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