We just got back from four days of camping with two of our grandkids and, according to my fitbit, I logged way more than the daily recommended 10,000 steps just being active with them than I do when I go for my daily multi-mile walks. In a way, I find that amazing, but then again, it shouldn’t. It does make me wonder, though, just how many steps I must have taken each day when their mother was young. Funny…that doesn’t seem so long ago.

Time goes by so fast, and it’s really only lately that I’ve become aware of just how precious each day is. When I really think about it, I’m usually either thinking about things I have to do or things that already happened. The ‘now’ inconspicuously melds into the background, quickly becoming the past.

Perhaps that’s why I so wanted to plan a trip with Bobby and Maeby this summer. Ten and eight respectively, they are growing up much too fast. Pretty soon they will want to spend most of their time with their friends; I know I did. Already, Bobby’s two baseball schedules pretty much dictate our lives, so  even planning this short trip was challenging. That’s all the more reason to want to be as much a part of their lives now, while I’m able. After the past few days, though, I find my ‘ableness’ is limited.

This was to be  ‘their’ vacation, and we’d do whatever they wanted. Playing wiffle ball at 7 o’clock in the morning was not out of the question. After all, it was just for a few days. But boy, oh boy, did we play wiffle ball a lot! Whenever we weren’t swimming in the lake or the pool or jumping on the monster pillow or making S’mores, or fishing, we played wiffle ball.

As it turned out, my husband and I took turns being with the kids so as to give the other a much needed break. I thanked God when I happened to meet another little boy who was camping nearby with his grandparents who was the same age as Bobby. Actually, our meeting didn’t just “happen”…I walked up to the kid and asked him if he liked to play wiffle ball. He was a temporary playmate for just one day. Kids are so great at being in the moment with whoever they’re with. Later on when he and I were in the pool, Bobby commented that, “playing wiffle ball with kids is harder than playing with you and Papa,” and he wondered why the difference. I knew what the difference was immediately: 50+ years!!!

Dave didn’t even attempt jumping on the giant inflatable pillow, but I did. I couldn’t resist. There was a time after all, back in the day, when I did a bit of jumping on the trampoline at my high school. So, I figured I was able. Ha! There is something to be said for ‘balance,’ and jumping with them on the pillow proved to be a lot more challenging than I imagined. The experience made me just more aware of just how precious my hips and knees are, and grateful for my good health, too. What fun!!! I laughed in a way I hadn’t in a while—hard and a lot!!

Being at Lake Barkley in the middle of the week was serene, and I was so thankful we hadn’t gone to the beach as originally planned. I take the Land Between the Lakes here in western Kentucky for granted because it’s close by, less than 30 miles, and sometimes I forget how grateful I am to live so near the water. There was a time in my life where the water was my life, having lived on a boat and all.

We rented one one afternoon, a pontoon, and took the kids tubing. I couldn’t resist that either. We took turns, two at a time on the tube, and had a blast. Kids’ bodies are so pliable; I’d forgotten how tubing bounces one around, and when my turn-on-the-tube ended, I was thankful.

Camping lasted only for a few days, but the number of memories each of us have are way more than that. Naturally, we took a gazillion pictures with our phones, and I’m going to have a few sets printed. Or made into one of those books that can be made in an hour. Already, our trip is in the past. See how fast time goes by?