CABIN

 This post came from the fourth grandson Thomas.

As the only west coast grandson for many decades before the internet age I kept in touch with the east coast family through Nan's letters, packages of random goodies, and of course summer trips to Pennsylvania. Nan made sure I came for the reunion which were crazy, fun and memorable. I'd fly alone and she'd pick me up at the airport with balloons, treats and hugs.

One particular reunion sticks out when we all stayed at a camp somewhere outside of our town. It had a big pool, rustic cabins, picnic areas and fields to play. Nan got me settled into my  cabin with some other cool cousins (they were all cool in my eyes) and let me unpack. I asked her if I needed my paper airplane ticket anymore. She said no so a little while later I tore it up and threw it away. I'm not sure why I tore it up but for some reason I was compelled to do so.

Soon after, Nan realized I had torn up my return ticket home. Well the sent her into a panic and got other aunts involved so I go to witness a good old full-family freak out. This was a delight for me because I came from such a small nuclear family and never got this much attention or really saw this much commotion before. Nan got everyone calmed down and went off to make some phone calls.The next day I was assured it was all taken care of and I would be returning home as planned. So I spent the next week (it felt longer) swimming with my cousins in the pool, playing hide and seek in the woods, and causing a little mischief here and there. It was July so Nan organized a birthday celebration moment for me.

Apparently, I had been using the word "awesome" a lot (it was the 80's) so a big chocolate cake was made, probably by my favorite aunt, with the word Awesome written on it in big red letters.It was truly awesome.

That's my Nan, bringing everyone together, tracking their needs, and keeping us focused on what's most important-each other.

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