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Dear Reader,
Last week when Bailey, our granddaughter, was visiting most of the writing I did was about her and remembering when I visited my own grandmother. So this week in my column, each day I'll share with you..."Notes from a Grandma's Journal".
It's the first day of our granddaughter's yearly visit. My husband and I are nervous and we worry, just a little bit, that we might not recognize Bailey walking down the jet ramp. But then again we entertain those thoughts briefly every year. Not to worry, we recognize our granddaughter instantly. "There she is, there she is!" I can feel the smile on my face and I'm knocking on the glass like a crazed Grandmother, but Bailey doesn't hear me above the jet noise on the tarmac. She looks so grown up. Worry takes over again, 'What if Bailey was undecided about visiting this year? Maybe she thinks she's too old to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa.' But the minute Bailey sees us she runs into my arms and gives me the biggest hug, and holds on tight for a very long time. I worry too much.
Bailey is almost 15 years old, but still not old enough to fly solo. I pay for a flight attendant to supervise Bailey on the plane and to make sure she gets to her connecting flight on time. I've always imagined that my $200 attendant fee was being paid to a kind, gentle woman with gold wings and a name tag who loves children, a fill-in grandmother so to speak. Someone to sit with Bailey and pass the time asking her all the usual adult to child questions like, "How old are you? What school do you go to? Do you like school? Who are you going to visit, what will you be doing? Is this your first time flying and where are you going?"
My granddaughter replied, "Sarasota," but the flight attendant corrected her. "No, you're flying to Tampa." But technically my granddaughter was right. She was going to Sarasota, her "final destination," as the flight attendant says over the loud speaker before you depart the plane, "Thank you for flying with us today. Enjoy your stay in Tampa, or whatever your final destination."
"Technically, literally," that kind of thinking constantly got me in trouble when I took a test in school. Even multiple choice questions were cause for debate: Is it A or B? Well, if it was raining outside, the roads would be slick and then the answer could be A or B. But I suppose they want me to answer A. Yet they really haven't given me enough information to make an informed decision. Perhaps I should write a little note beside the check box I just shaded in with my #2 pencil?
The attendant was nice, but nothing like I'd envisioned. She was a he and he was young, probably in his mid-twenties. He did a little chit-chat with Bailey, but only to make sure Bailey was Bailey and then the attendant escorted Bailey into a room with other kids who were flying alone. The door was locked, (merely for security reasons and someone checked on them frequently) but I hope when my granddaughter remembers her visit to Grandma and Grandpa's house she conveniently forgets that part of the story.
When you only see your granddaughter once a year it's easy to forget some things, like how Bailey is a bit gullible. (More about that tomorrow.) To see some photos of Bailey's visit, go to: http://tinyurl.com/BVacation0709
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
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http://www.DearReader.com
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