July Column Winner

A Bubble Off Plumb

By Connie Burcham, Watonga Republican

The thing about raising a pack of kids is that by the time the grandkids come along, you have forgotten what you used to live with on a daily basis.

Our grandsons are here visiting for a week or 10 days. The first day out, I had to run to the store, wait for it to open, and buy milk. We had milk when they arrived, but it somehow disappeared. 

These kids eat like horses and mind like mules. Most meals they can’t even get up from the table before they are discussing what to have for a snack or dessert. Failing in that, they are delving into the cook-book collection to look up something for Grandma to make for them. The last choice was a hummingbird cake. How am I sup-posed to catch the hummingbirds? 

Each of them also has food restrictions. Not because they are picky eaters, but actual things they cannot eat for fear of serious intestinal repercussions. Since we only have one bathroom at our house, we are careful to follow the guidelines.

But some of the restrictions build a closer relationship. For example, the older kid takes the same medication as I do for stomach problems. Neither of us can eat as many tomatoes as we would like. I mean, I’d eat my weight in the little red jewels, and so would he. But alas, that is no longer a possibility.
 
The younger one can only consume a little meat. Not that he is opposed to eating meat –he has a mouthful of hardware that makes chewing it tricky. The same is true for really sticky, gooey treats. So we tend toward big leafy salads full of other proteins like hard cooked eggs, cheese and small bits of ham and chicken. So maybe while they are here, Grandma can shed a pound or two by eating salads and not eating gooey treats.

Sometimes finding something left to eat as a grownup with children in residence can be challenging. Basically, it has to be something they really hate. I enjoy plain vanilla yogurt, Greek style. I offered them my yogurt, but they viewed it much like they would something the cat horked up on the carpet.

This weekend we are going to the lake and camp for a night or two. We’re going to try to survive on hotdogs, beenie weenies and s’mores. I’m sure we will all look and act like something out of the Walking Dead by the time we get home, but hey, what are summer days with the grandkids for?