A Cousin Reunion

We arrived at Frank Jackson State Park to find Joe, Judy, John waiting for us.  Amelia, who had not seen John in two years, jumped out of the truck and ran to give him a big hug.  This, of course, was totally unexpected by John who immediately blushed with embarassment  I think at that point he was beginning to wonder what lay ahead for him in the next few days.

After the delicious lunch that Judy had prepared we all went to their trailer which is quite a bit bigger than ours so that John and Amelia could get to know one another and enjoy playing together.  Let me also include that it was icy cold and windy all week long so playing outside was out of the question.  In no time at all they were having a good time together.  John (age 7) had received an i-pad for Christmas and Amelia had her mom's.  They began to compare games and take turns swapping them back and forth.  I was afraid that Amelia was taking advantage of John, but he assured me, "She has some cool things on her i-pad that I don't have."  There were so cute together.  We often observed Amelia resting her head on John's shoulder while he showed her something on the i-pad.  They played inside together for most of two days without any whining, tears, or melt-downs.  I give John a lot of credit because he is older and was very patient, but Amelia did well at sharing and taking turns also.  Kudos to all parents involved!

Thursday we carried them to a Chuck-E-Cheese for lunch and games.  After pizza, they took their tokens and mostly went to different things to play rather than going around together.  It was a good day although an adult should be tranquilized before going into that place.  It sure was noisy, but a good time anyway.  That night as we left their trailer, Amelia hugged Joe and Judy and then she turned to John, who, this time was waiting for his hug.

That night I was so tired when putting Amelia to bed.  She has a way of stalling the process somewhat.  During a lengthy conversation about our day she told me, "Nana, John doesn't like girls, but he loves me!"  Also in this conversation while she rested her head on my chest, she said, "Nana, you're so soft and wonderful." and then after her prayer and "Jesus Loves Me" and "Sweet Dreams", she called me back again, "Nana, I just want to give you one more hug."  She sure has a tight hold on our hearts.

The next morning both sets of grandparents headed to carry their little ones back to their parents.  We met Amy in Mobile and Amelia was very happy to see her.  We were grateful that they allowed us to have her for this week.  I hope that Amelia and John will be able to have more good times together.  They are two very special children.

Paw-Paw and Amelia enjoy a rousing game of Hi-Ho-Cherrio