Memories and Future Generations: (#21 on my list):

Each weekend I get one of my grandsons on Friday night and they spend the weekend with me.  I take them back on Sunday.  The sole purpose of this was to have quality one-on-one time with them, but there are many other benefits that we all get out of it.  I make it completely their weekend and focus on what is special to them.

Each grandson has their own likes and tastes, so I completely cater to their likes. On our drive home we discuss what he wants to do for the weekend.  Sam likes Chinese so we go to his favorite Chinese restaurant. He expects that each time now.  He loves what we call bird’s nests (some people call it a toad in a hole, but it is an egg in the middle of a piece of bread and fried).  I make it for him each morning for breakfast.  I tell him that someday when he makes it for his children he is to tell them that his grandma always made it for him.  We are making memories and sharing memories along with getting to know each other better. 

I get to know each of my grandsons more and more and love them for the fine young men they are becoming.  Sawyer loves Mexican so we do Mexican.  He loves chocolate donuts and cinnamon toast so I make sure I have all his favorite foods in the house to spoil him in small ways. They get to stay up late and the day in entirely their day.  They do not have to compete with their 3 other brothers.  Sawyer is the one that in my eyes is most like me.  My quiet thinker.

Saylor has a special diet and can’t have gluten or dairy so we make special recipes that he likes to help me fix.  We make Saylor brownies we invented that he loves and he gets what he loves and his brothers can eat what ever they want when it is his weekend giving all them a break also.  He is my Thespian.  His imagination is always working.  We like to spend time making costumes and tools for him to pretend with.  He also looks back on his memories at the age of 8 and says:  "Good times, good times!"  This tickles me so because he sounds like he is grown up and looking back over many memories.  He is the most affectionate (although they are all affectionate).  He hugs me and tells me over and over in a day how much he loves me adding to my "good times".

Both Saylor and Sal love to sit and go through old pictures and discuss the memory.  Sal is happy with just having Spaghettios and McDonald’s chicken nuggets so I cater to him by always having Spaghettios in the house and taking him to McDonalds where we sit and talk about his week.  He loves to bake with me also.  Both Sal and Saylor love to do crafts and play simple games on the computer.  They are always proud to take something they have made home to mama or papa and it is so much fun doing it together. Sal loves to collect so he is always looking for something to take home as a memory.

Grandmas are noted for food and memories and I’m no different.  Future generations will know me through the memories they share with their children and hopefully some of my wisdom that I have shared with them will carry on also. 

God watch over them, bless them and let them know much happiness.