What My Grandchildren Taught Me This Year

Warehouse Sale July 15-17
Thursday, July 15, 9-5:30
Friday, July 16, 9 to 5:00
Saturday, July 17, 9 to 3:00

Hello Everyone,

It’s almost here! Our Annual Warehouse Sale begins July 15-17. Everything in the warehouse area is 50% off. We open at 9 each day. Bring your friends and make sure they are signed up for our emails, because all customers that are signed up for our emails can shop in the store and receive a 20 % discount on all merchandise purchased in the store. And remember, in the warehouse, everything is 50% off and 20% off in the store area, (if signed up for emails.) I can’t wait to see all the bargains you’ll be picking up.

Some of you have told me how you thought I was so organized and how I did so much and I have told you that I really am not what you think. Today, I just wanted to give you a glimpse of the real me–warts and all.

My grandchildren (8 of them just left after spending 5 days of Granny Camp with me.) I don’t know why it is, but when they are here with me, I love it. But after a while I start counting the hours until their moms and dads pick them up. And then when they leave, I spend most of that day crying over how much I miss them. Are they perfect children? No! They are much like my siblings and I were when we were children. Each of them with their own flaws, that as a grandmother I rarely see and if I do see it, I know they will grow out of it and into the person God intended them to be.

But this year, it was different. My little grandkids had grown so much that they commented on how crowded it was at the table and how hot it was in the bedrooms they were sleeping in. (We even had turned the thermostat down for them.) They did not have a bad attitude about it, they were just making a statement. I suddenly realized, that the oldest that was here would graduate from high school this next spring and the second oldest would be getting his drivers license soon. The beautiful granddaughters were becoming women and the little children no longer fit in one bedroom.

And then to top it off, I was not prepared as I should have been. I knew it had been raining all week and did not know if we would be able to do any outdoor activities as usual. So, consequently I thought I would “wing it.” I do feel ashamed that I did not have more alternative plans made, but truthfully, I was so tired after coming home from market that I just was not creative.

As I was confessing that to one of the mothers, one of my granddaughters said, “Grandma, this was the best “Granny Camp” ever. How sweet to hear those words of encouragement.

Sometimes I feel that way in my walk with the Lord. I just wish I had done more and done better than I had. And then He comes along and sends me someone to encourage me.

This life is crazy. When you’re young you think the days are passing so slowly and when you’re old, you wonder where the years have gone. And then He gives us a tomorrow, sometimes, and you learn from yesterdays mistakes. And you make your new day better and the lives of the people you come into contact are better because of the way you’ve treated them and lived out your life before them.

So in the next few months I’m going to re-learn how to ride a bicycle so that I can be prepared for “Granny Camp” next year. And I’m going to try to make someone else’s life better because of what I’ve learned from my grandchildren these last 5 days.

Blessings!

Debbie