We had to make a call on Camp Grandma 2020 this week and it wasn’t an easy decision.  The property owner contacted Mr. Smith and me to remind us we were 60 days out and needed to pay the balance of the rental amount or cancel.  The rental property is located in Ohio and along with most of the country, it is under a “stay-at-home” order due to the COVID19 virus. While the Ohio lockdown is currently scheduled to be lifted May 1, there are no guarantees. And our family would be traveling there from three different states. With no wide-spread testing available and no vaccine on the immediate horizon we felt the agonizing need to be responsible and error on the safe side. So, we canceled. 

 Disappointment is “sadness or displeasure caused by the nonfulfillment of one’s hopes or expectations” and there is currently plenty of sadness in the love nest. I am taking some guidance from Tiny Buddha and experiencing the disappointment and not feeling any sense of obligation to “just get over it.”  I know that soon I will start to develop some perspective. I know my own heart and want to act with love and kindness, not negativity.  I am disappointed, but it will pass.

So, while there is no joy in Mudville today, I have started thinking about a virtual Camp Grandma.  Mr. Smith and my sister both suggested I put together a virtual experience and now the wheels are turning. Thoughts of my computer screen plugged into Zoom and reflecting a Hollywood Squares type screen filled with silly, giggly grandkids does help with the joy factor.  And maybe it will be a life lesson for my little darlings.   I hope they never have to deal with a pandemic again in their lifetime, but there will always be obstacles, problems and stumbling blocks.  Something can always go wrong.  We can either take to our beds in a fetal position or we can search for workable solutions to make life and the lives of others better.  MacGyvering a virtual Camp Grandma experience out of popsicle sticks, some glitter, and the internet seems not only a fun project but also a worthwhile life lesson for future adults I adore.  That is what my Aunt Ruby would have done.

C’est la vie.