It’s A Grand Life – Summer is Now in Full Swing

I am sitting on my porch with the fan turned on high. I was considering walking down to the dock and sitting in the gazebo to write, but I am easily distracted watching the birds gliding along looking for fish and seeing the fish jumping up out of the water to avoid being caught. There is often a nice breeze and boaters coming by, so it is hard to concentrate and achieve my goal.

I look forward to summer, despite the heat, because the grands are out of school. There were so many more days to spend with them when they were pre-schoolers or just finishing first or second grades. Now, they are busy with friends and activities. You may think by reading this that I am complaining about not getting as much time with them anymore. Actually, it is quite the contrary. I love that summer doesn’t find them sitting at home watching TV or on their iPads.

From camps to swim meets, mission trips, outings with friends, a few day trips and getting ready for college or back to school, among lots of other things, their summers will be full.

We will celebrate our country’s 250th anniversary by having a cookout before going down on the dock to watch fireworks go off in all directions. We will miss being with our Charlotte family but know they will be having amazing celebrations of their own.

We will have everyone together when we head over to Bald Head Island, one of our family’s favorite places, later this month. We have so many wonderful memories of trips we have taken all together. Except for the year of COVID, we have taken a family trip every Labor Day weekend with all 14 of us and our son-in-law’s parents, sister and her family. I hope we can continue this tradition even if we have to choose another date.

Family is the most important thing in the world to me. I have been blessed with the best! I am never happier than when I get to spend time with them. Living so close to two of our families is wonderful. Knowing that I am there if they need me to stay with the children or to get one to ballet while they get the other one to soccer practice makes me happy. I know that one day they won’t need me for that; they’ll be old enough to stay alone for short amounts of time. They will also know that they can call me for anything at any time. Do I wish that the other family could live closer? Of course, but Charlotte isn’t that far away. Hopefully, there will be the odd few days where they will come and stay with us for a couple days or more. However, I also remember after being away from home during summer vacation, I looked forward to being back with my friends.

What matters the most is just being a part of their lives. Watching them grow and mature, learning what they love to spend time doing, being so proud of their parents for raising these remarkable young people. I have wonderful memories of my family’s trips to Texas to visit my grandparents. Our visits never lasted long enough, but our days together were full of fun, outings with my granddad to go fishing on his catfish-stocked pond, horseback riding, trips to town and sitting on a porch swing being regaled with stories. Every now and then, something will be said, or happen, that stirs up one of those memories. I hope our grandchildren will have those, too!

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Susan Woodall

Forsyth Magazines writer since 2011. Originally from Washington, DC, Susan now calls Winston-Salem home. She graduated summa cum laude with a degree in journalism and spent a term at Christ Church College, Oxford University. Susan and her husband, JC, have three daughters, Erin, Britton, and Meghan (who is Forsyth Magazines’ senior staff writer.) She loves working with her daughter, Meghan, as well as the Forsyth Magazines’ staff. Susan relishes her role of grandmother and caring for her two rescue pups – Duncan and Matilda. She loves to travel and on a recent trip visited China and climbed the Great Wall. “It is a privilege to work on these wonderful publications and to write such a variety of articles,” said Susan.

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