Saturday, April 10, 2010

Friends and smiles, changes in life.

One of my dearest friends is working through suddenly raising her grand kids, circumstances don't matter for the small ones...all they know is that they now live at Oma's house.

It has had its moments with the 12 year old deciding that life is unfair, wrong and being generally difficult as only a 12 year old girl can. The youngest has conquered some small people things and is blossoming with the example of her Grandmother's guidance, the middle one, a boy, starting to make that transition from a boy to a young man. He is learning the intricacies of making fish sticks and fries, and more complex things with the pride showing through as he serves his little sister's dinner and makes up his own plate. He has conquered pancakes from scratch (with oversight) and is learning that WASHING the dishes is important as well as dirtying them.

The youngest has the warmest spot in the house, the spot by the wood stove that heats the modest house of her grandmother, a space that she shares with the ferret and occasionally the cats, though the cats usually sleep in the elder's room (does double duty as a home office) while still having the run of the indoors.

I marvel at my friend's flexibility and resourcefulness, raising kids on a tight budget is challenging enough without all the added expenses that today's kids seem to have. She is a wonderful cook, a fact not always appreciated by kids raised on boxes of stuff that can have water added for a "faster" meal. I have seen her whip up the same type (tho hardly same class - FAR outranks the box stuff) of food in LESS time than the box preps require. Parent - teacher conferences, trips for the kids, field trips and all manner of things that HER children didnt have that its assumed that all kids do today.

With all of this she is starting a new career at a grandmotherly age, tho NOT demenor, working through the startup of a business that can be quite demanding while still doing the old job to cover the expenses and feed the new mouths at the table. She is also an archer with her own longbow and a huntress with a rifle as well. She and the grandkids have been camping, hiking and generally out goofing off with their Oma and they love it.

Having been raised in the city, in apartments, the kids had to learn about the outdoors, mud and less pavement. Its been a learning experience for the kids as well as their Oma.

I'm proud of her though for doing so well with the sudden influx of life.

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