The girls were out of school for the entire week of Thanksgiving. They spent from Sunday afternoon to Wednesday afternoon with Gigi and Papa. We had so much fun.

We made Christmas gifts–paintings, flour and salt ornaments, glittery pine cones, boxes, and more. Our ornaments turned out kind of puffy. The dough was dry so we added more water. The dough was too wet so we added more flour. And more flour, and more flour. I’d never made them before. The girls said this was a “fail,” but we managed to salvage most of them. They painted them and they turned out OK. Some were just too bloated to save!

The next night we wrapped tons of gifts. We even wrapped up Breezy as a surprise for Papa. He was totally shocked when he discovered what was in the package (Wink, wink).

While Breezy was wrapping, she didn’t appear to be paying attention to the television. One of those many pharmaceutical ads came on that lists all the potential side effects such as “headache, diarrhea, weight gain or loss, blindness, stroke, heart attack, and death.” Breezy never looks up from her package. “Then WHY would you give it to someone?”

My thoughts exactly. Who knew 8-year-olds wonder the same thing?

The girls spent two days working in our 6-month-old restaurant, a hotdog joint. They loved it. They worked really hard, and even mopped the floors. I asked them if they’d rather go to school, or work at the cafe. Both said they’d rather work! They do like making money.

I told Breezy that by law she had to continue in school until she is at least 16. Then she could drop out. She said, “I can drop out when I’m 16? I’m going to do it!”

I responded, “Breezy, you are not going to drop out when you’re 16.” She replied immediately, “Gigi, I’m dropping out of school when I’m 16!” She paused for a moment and added, “And there’s nothing you can do to stop it!”

She wasn’t being impertinent. She was just kidding. That’s her hilarious sense of humor at 8. Papa and I got a huge laugh out of it.

On Wednesday, we bowled at my treat, then ate pizza. They both spent their week’s paychecks at the arcade. They each won over 600 tickets and scored some pretty good prizes.

It is a joy to spend time with these two beautiful girls. It’s one of the main reasons I retired at 60. I am a very blessed woman.

I am grateful for granddaughters, their parents, and my awesome husband who is truly my best friend. I’m grateful for my three siblings and my healthy 87-year-old mother. I’m grateful for a father who was the most influential person in my life. He’s still with me although he died 30 years ago.

Family is what life is really all about. Everything else pales in comparison.

Love your family. Be good to them. Thank God for them.

You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them. (Desmond Tutu)

dmzh