Spring Break

I understand the harassment young married couples get from their mothers...the instant the wedding is over, the moms start in on "when are you going to have a baby!" If you're my age, you understand perfectly. If you're one of those young marrieds, get going! You'll have thrilling joy when you become grandparents! You need to, have to, give your moms a baby! I delight in the faces of my fellow grandmothers when they tell me of a new one on the way, or even better, giddy, more glowing---that that first one is nearly here!

Happily, I didn't have to wait long. I've got SEVEN grandchildren, and I'm having the time of my life!! I want all of you to have this fun! Keep up the harrassment, unashamedly! We just spent a whirlwind week while the kids were out of school.

Harrison, Carter and I met the southern California kids, Emma and Dylan, in Lone Pine and headed towards Death Valley for a few days. We camped at Panamint Springs...for the express reason that the kids like to toast breakfast croissants on a campfire. We ate great handfuls of peanut M&Ms, Emma and Harrison had frappuccinos with breakfast (they felt so grown up beside the little boys with chocolate milk!), we kept Cutie tangerines and Oreos on the car seat to snack on all day long!

In the morning, we went down into the valley, to ski on the Mesquite Dunes. Carter surprised me by telling me that the most memorable part of our trip there last year, was that drive down to the bottom of the valley. I saw it through his eyes then...and love him so much more for seeing beauty along the way! The kids skied, we cooled off with "Death Valley" orange cream soda---Scotty's Castle, Devils Golfcourse, Artist's Palette, Badwater, swimming in the geothermal spring-fed pool at Furnace Creek Ranch! Dinner, ice cream, sound sleep!

Leaving the depth and heat of Death Valley to climb home through snow, is the loveliest homecoming. The kids skied the dunes and then 24 hours later, skied the home snow at 7000 feet. They had a defining experience when they skied down a side of the mountain that doesn't have a lift...they had to decide what to do---without adult help/intrusion! On their own, they found that there is a shuttle just for that reason! They got themselves back to me, where I was standing and wondering...worrying why they were gone so long! They learned that they can be self-reliant! I decided that I better learn to ski...

Our week together went by so fast. We snowshoed along the snowy beach of Lake Tahoe and ate salami and brie. We baked a chocolate "Thunder Cake" from Carter's reading book. The kids skied at Homewood, our favorite sweet local family resort, that has plans and pictures for fancy development posted all over the place...we'll miss it when it changes. We stayed in when it rained like crazy one day; the kids played in the attic and ate candy and cake for lunch. They move together in a little noisy "herd," and there's nothing I'd rather do, anytime-anywhere, than follow and watch. Sweet times!