Grandma Camp Lessons

If you're doing it right -- Grandma Camp is all about the lessons. Only a Grandma has the time to teach a child how to roll out a homemade pie crust...or the benefit of doing at least one good deed every day...

And, hopefully, even if things don't go EXACTLY as planned, there will be lessons.

Take our afternoon of tenting...

I should mention here that Ross barely remembered his tent...and as Lilly and Warren were excitedly running outside to begin our "camping" adventure, Ross said, "It may not be as much fun as you think..."

His pessimistic prediction was very annoying...

All the parts were there...including the instruction BOOK...

But, even though we got off to a good start -- and I DID READ THE BOOK in advance...things went downhill...

Lilly and I could not do it without Warren's help...and I thought we were on our way to a great team-building lesson...

But not so much...after the first hour...we're all sweating...the kids are tired and bored...(GRANDMA, TOO!) and it was HOT AS HELL...

HOW COULD ROSS HAVE KNOWN IT WOULD TURN OUT LIKE THIS??

I am sooo over this damned tent. The stupid thing collapsed at least four times...and what did Warren do with those tent stakes? I lost my temper (3 times) There was some cursing...Lilly started to cry...Warren was begging to go inside and take a nap...

FINALLY -- after two hours and six meltdowns (3 for me, 3 for the kids) -- the tent is finished.

Lilly was pouting by that time, so, to cheer her up,  I said, "when we see Uncle Ross, we are going to act like this was the most fun we ever had..."

She chuckled...kinda...

It actually looked pretty good...

I'm pretty sure this will be the ONLY picture I ever get of Lilly and Warren inside the tent.

At the end of the day,  there was a lesson I hope the kids will remember. ..

But it wasn't about how to put up a tent...and it wasn't about teamwork.  It certainly wasn't about patience...

Here it is...after losing my temper for the third time, Lilly started to cry, and I said, (still yelling)...

SEE -- THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THINGS AREN'T GOING RIGHT, AND THE ADULT IN THE ROOM IS PISSED OFF AND HOT...THEY GET CRANKY AND WANT TO BLAME SOMEBODY ELSE FOR THE TROUBLE. 

BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, THEY START YELLING AT INNOCENT CHILDREN.

YOU HAVE DONE NOTHING WRONG.  I AM SORRY I LOST MY TEMPER...and I will try to do better.