The Best Laid Plans.....

We pulled away from my Mom's house at approximately 3:45 am on Monday morning. One would think it would be easier every time I said goodbye, but it is more difficult.

My Grandkids are growing up. Max is a 'tween now, but he still puts up with my hugs and kisses with only an occasional "Oh Grandma...(you know the tone). Addie is my cuddle bunny. She still enjoys unbridled hugs and kisses. We had big plans before we got there. Among them, going to South Haven again for fun and food at Clementine's. A trip to Chicago on the train, maybe a visit to a fair or amusement park, the usual stuff.

Well.....We did go to Craig's Cruisers, where we road on the go-karts, the bumper boats, (film at 11), played video games and air hockey. A good time was had by all. We took everyone to Shipshewana, Indiana for the huge flea market where you can buy just about anything. Sam bought two lovely dress shirts for $3.75 each, I kid you not, as my Dad (and Jack Parr) would say. Then we drove over to Middlebury, Indiana to the Essenhaus for a family style dinner of roast beef, fried chicken, buttered noodles, stuffing, corn, mashed potatoes and gravy and best of all, homemade pie for dessert. Yum, yum....The kids loved it.

Instead of taking the kids to South Haven, Sam and I went with my bff from way back when, Deb and her husband Bob, to Saugatuck, Michigan and strolled the streets, ate outside, and saw how the other half (or three-quarters)live.

We visited Sam's childhood homestead in Gobles with friends who have since bought the property. We walked some of the property, visited the pond where he used to swim with the Smith girls, and took a few rocks from the rock pile he and his Dad made while trying to farm the property. We will use them for bookends and perhaps a door stop or two and think fondly of the place he grew up.

Our final big event was a get-together with my classmates from the class of 1968 to celebrate our homecoming and the fact we were still alive after 41 years. What a rush that was. Most of us went kindergarten through graduation together. We all had a great time laughing and catching up.

Sprinkled in with all this were numerous bbq's at my Son's house with the kids, a family reunion that they love to attend each year, and swimming with Isabelle and Dominick.

I guess what I am trying to say is that as we get older our roles change with our families. The children are older and have friends and activities that don't involve their grandparents, and this is the trip where it hit home.

I consoled myself with plenty of MGD 64 and Plainwell Ice Cream with my family, and lots of visits with old friends and I only gained three pounds!