This summer I continued the tradition we started 10 years so: Camp Lollipop. It’s our cousins’ camp, called after our grandparent names, Lollie and Pops. For a brief spell I thought maybe we’d skip this year for various reasons—some grands might have outgrown it; Pops couldn’t really participate; the south Georgia weather was hot, etc. I’m eternally thankful I didn’t!
The children’s enthusiasm was contagious—it gave me all the motivation I needed. The older ones showed as much excitement as the younger ones, and they all had ideas to contribute. It would be a shorter camp, so the idea was to pack in the activities that would be the most rewarding.
Our time started Friday after lunch. They had the afternoon to play on the giant water slide and share laughs with a dunking tank. They even participated in silly races with each other, such as wheelbarrow races, leapfrog, crab crawl, hopping, waddling—anything competitive. The older ones paired off with the younger cousins and they couldn’t have been happier to be together. I watched amazed and satisfied at seeing their family bonds growing stronger and stronger.
Friday night after dinner we gathered around the fireplace (which definitely did not have any fire this time) for our “intentional time.” They showed up on time (according to my printed schedule), equipped with journals and Bibles, to have more serious and meaningful discussion. I paired them together in combinations that weren’t necessarily the unusual combinations and asked them to go out at sunrise the next morning and spend time with their partners seeing what they heard from the Lord.
To my delight, they all did it! Two of them took beautiful pictures of the sunrise. I wasn’t sure if they would make it by the time, especially when the girls had a dance party at midnight in our cabin. Nevertheless, they all woke and were out by sunrise the next morning.
The next day was filled with laughter, competitions, and designing their own camp tee shirts. I’m glad I didn’t order printed ones. Their own creativity was much more satisfying to them and a much cheaper option for me.
The highlight for the day was their preparing dinner for their parents that night. With the help of three of the granddaughters.I had created three groups to be in charge of the 3-course meal. At 4:00 p.m. the “appetizer” group started prepping wedge salads. Other than a bit of overlap in the kitchen with the main course and dessert group, the dinner went as planned and was a huge success. The parents enjoyed being served and pampered and the kids got satisfaction from their efforts and cooperation.
But the ultimate highlight of the weekend came Sunday morning when six of the grandchildren were baptized in our lake by their fathers. The desire was that Pops be the one to do it (as he did with the first two grandchildren three years ago), but since he wasn’t physically able, they chose the next best thing. He sat in his wheelchair and no doubt had his cup filled.