Thoughtful

This is a blog about a very thoughtful fellow. He is one of my grandchildren, and while we were camping at the beach last week, he showed it in several ways. He is a thinker. One night, as he was heading off to his sleeping bag, and hugging and kissing the adults who were sitting around the campfire, he turned to CoolGuy/Grandpa and noted, "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have my mom! Thanks!" So dear...

Then, a couple of days later, he went out shopping with his sister and his aunt (who had generously picked them up at home, drove them to the beach, and then took care of them for four days, because their mother -- her sister -- had to work.)  They came home from shopping with their bounty and busily showed off the new flip-flops, and shirts and hats. And then, he pulled out a set of earrings from the bag. "Here Grandma, these are for you. I tried to find flamingo earrings, but we couldn't. So I got you these."

First, I couldn't even remember telling him about my wonderful flamingo earrings that had been stolen years ago. Then, that he would recall that story and be consciously looking for a replacement set (he's only six years old!) was just so dear. I carefully listened as he pointed out the details of the gift.

Look closely at them, and you should be able to realize why he felt these were an excellent substitute for the flamingos. They are beach camping earrings. There are the little campfires in the top center. Then, you see the suns on the bottom right, the sunscreen on the bottom left. See the frogs in the center bottom? Every night as we sat in our chairs and watched the campfire, we listened to the frogs singing in the marsh that edged the bottom of the canyon in which the campsite was located. There are little lanterns on the middle left--just like CoolGuy/Grandpa's lantern that hissed in the center of our dinner table. We weren't much bothered by bees, and their beehive wasn't a feature, but we sure did spend a lot of time with marshmallows (upper left) and graham crackers (upper right.)

In fact, S'mores making and toasting Starburst candies was the main purpose for sitting in front of the campfire in our chairs. We'd eat a melted Starburst (this activity introduced by Auntie) and partially eat a S'mores, but mostly we'd just set marshmallows on fire and watch them puff up into astonishingly large charcoal blobs, and finally, slip off the end of the toasting sticks and land on the hot coals. Don't know why setting things alight in the campfire is so intriguing, but it is. And it is an important part of camping: playing with fire (in a controlled environment.) I vividly remember, as a child, holding my marshmallow toasting stick in the coals until the end of it was glowing (or flaming,) and then waving it in cool patterns through the inky night air in the pasture where our family bonfire dinner had been served.

So, anyway, I just really wanted to share the wonderful gift I was given by a young man who is a thoughtful person, in so many ways. I immediately put the suns in my ears, and wore them the rest of the camping trip. Thanks again!