The Splash

You look at this photo and a thousand questions race through your mind. How can five children, holding hands and running toward the edge of the pool, possibly hit the water at the same time? Should they land at the same time? Will Zoomie (in red) and Heero (in blue) catch up with the rest of the group? Will Zoomie be able to keep a grip on his nose in the seconds to follow?

Will any unsuspecting swimmers be decapitated? Will the lady in the lounge chair behind the kids have a dry square inch left on her body? Is she thinking it might be about time to pack up her flip-flops and go home? 

Will the splash that is imminent make The Guinness Book of World Records? Do these kids have a future in synchronized swimming?

Let me assure you that the aforementioned splash was indeed huge--every time this scene was replayed during the course of last week. And luckily, no pool patron, either in or out of the water at any time, was harmed in the making of this picture.

Last week, all six grandkids came to Googie's house for a week of summertime fun. During the mornings they attended Kids College classes at our local community college. Sooby (who was busy talking to a friend during all of the splashing) attended a class in theatre arts; Bootsie designed beautiful creations in "Fabric Fun"; and Pooh explored the Oregon Trail. The other three boys attended the same workshop in Sensory Science, making tornadoes in bottles, making kinetic sand (one of the boys called it "Connecticut sand"), and constructing a primitive "lava lamp" from oil and water.

I think the thing that caught me by surprise most was the sheer amount of food six children can consume. It didn't take me long to learn that, when eating out at Steak 'n' Shake, the kids' menu is no longer an option. Thank goodness, though, for Sonic's half-price milkshakes after 8 p.m. Those gave everyone a chance to pick a special treat for just under $15.

At home we went through a large pot of navy beans and ham, a large pot of green beans with bacon and new potatoes, a large pot of chicken and noodles, a watermelon, three pans of cinnamon rolls, a big pot of corn on the cob, two blenders of banana-peanut butter smoothies, a 13 x 9" spaghetti casserole, two boxes of Texas toast, a huge bowl of fresh salad, a huge bowl of fruit salad--and those are just the things I can remember. It seemed like I was always planning a meal, grocery shopping while they were at school, cooking, or cleaning up the kitchen. That would be my only complaint if I had one--that and the fact that I sometimes forgot to factor in enough food for me and Pa-pa.

When we weren't eating, it was a week of Lego-building, superhero costumes, Barbie-dressing, and Ninja Turtle movies in the car while we were on the road. There was even a night when we reverted to our old habit of singing together at bedtime, with Pooh and me delivering our rousing rendition of "King of the Road" after everyone else had fallen asleep.

The pool picture offers a good visual metaphor for our week together, the week when all the grandkids joined hands and plunged into the otherwise ordinariness of my summer. The house is quiet now that they are gone, and I miss them.