Where Did the Time Go?

We have spent time each summer with my grandchildren from the time they were very young. My grandson, the first, started to come when he was about two years old. The girls were slightly older as they were not quite ready to be away from Mom at such a young age. Every visit has been a blessing and a joy, and we have filled them with many memories for them to have the rest of their lives.

Anthony is now 16, and is very aware that he has had many more adventures than his sister and cousin. He has been to the New England Aquarium twice, The Boston Children’s Museum, and on the streets of the North End during a World Cup; in his stroller yelling out “Italia, Italia”. He’s been on historical adventures to Plymouth Plantation, Lexington & Concord, and the USS Albacore Museum, plus exploring at The Seacoast Science Center at Ordiorne Point State Park.

When Emily and Natalie were two and four, we decided to take all three of them at once to start the girl’s adventures. The first one was to Fort Ticonderoga in NY. The visions of them listening to stories and running through the old fort are memories that warm my heart; so intent on watching and learning.

Next was the ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain which they did enjoy but became restless and cranky after a bit. We walked them up to Church Street for lunch which calmed them as it does even the most rambunctious children. It was such fun sitting at a table on the sidewalk listening to street musicians, and hearing the kids tell stories and giggle.

The last trip we took with all three of them was to the Great Escape Lodge and Indoor Water Park; they had a blast, and we were exhausted by the time we returned them home the next morning. The funniest memory from that trip was from Nanu. We took them up to the room after they were water-logged to get them all through the shower. Nanu decided that he wanted to watch the news, so he told them to sit on the beds and be quiet; seriously, I don’t know what he was thinking. In very short order I rounded them up and took them down to the arcade.

A few years ago my sister invited us to join them at Old Orchard Beach; they had rented a house on the water for the weekend when my nephew received his white jacket as a pharmacy student. We took all three children with us and they had the time of their life. I have always said it was one of the best days of my life as I watched them play in the ocean and pool.

Emily and Natalie have had their own individual time for several years, which usually has included a bit of shopping, a movie, pedicures and ice cream at the local restaurant. Our tradition has been to have ice cream for lunch; grandmothers can do that sort of thing. Nanu always joins us for the trips to the beach, and maybe a movie, but the girls spend most of their time with me. The past two years they have come at the same time, which has given them someone to play in the waves with, float on the lake and jump off the dock.

It doesn’t seem possible that so many years have passed by since the first visit; in my mind it was only yesterday that Anthony, Emily and Natalie were born. I remember them all so clearly as infants and toddlers; precious, innocent and filled with joy. If only we could keep them at that stage forever. 

I am so fortunate that they still want to spend time with us each summer and will cherish every moment. One day their lives will be filled with so many things and the visits will be fewer, but they will forever have the memories we have created all these years.