Babysitting Old People

 There it is; that beautiful Toccoa River. The rippling sound going over the rocks sounded like it was going to be a rough ride. My children Robert and Crystal had decided to come on an adventure with me and my friends; Deborah and Ricky. Somehow my children talked us into floating down the river. I thought this was a wonderful idea at the time. Robert is getting our tubes; while we go toward the bus to go to the destination. I thought with my age; what if I have to go to the bathroom? How embarrassing it is to get older and health starts changing. Ricky and Deborah were not in good health but that girl loves adventure.

So here we go getting on the tubes. Wow, what cold water and here we go running down the river like a bunch of kids. I thought this is really fun and then bam; I found myself hung up on a tree. I was afraid to get off; I might see a snake or some other creature. Robert yelled,” Mom, I’m coming to get you. Just hang on.” Here Robert comes to save his mother from drowning and getting hurt on a tree. He got there and pulled me off. Then bam, there is Ricky and Deborah hung up on the rocks. Oh my, this is an interesting trip. I heard Robert mumble,” Old people”. He went swimming to where they were and pulled them off. There was Crystal, getting her a tan laying in the sun while Robert was taking care of us old people. This is going to be a memory not forgotten.

We ended up getting hung up again and so Robert just took both our tubes and tied them together. He was pulling us down the river when he stepped off into a hole and went under the water. I had never been so scared in my life. It made me relive a memory of mine.

When Robert was about five, we were at my friend’s house in her pool. My son Shane and him were on a float. Robert started falling off and he was pulling Shane with him. Shane couldn’t help him without it him pulling him down. They were both in the water struggling to stay on top. Both were screaming. All I could see was my little boys drowning. This would be a memory I could never handle. Losing a child is the worst thing anyone could do. I would have jumped in myself and who knows what would happen.

Lynn and I had been in a bad car wreck three days earlier. She had two casts on her legs and I had one on mine. Her mother Dianne was there and she was going to jump in to save them. But Dianne could not swim. I was just about to jump in myself when Lynn threw in a lifeguard ring. The boys grabbed it and hung on. She pulled both boys in and finally I could breathe. This was a memory I would never forget.

So to get back to reality, Robert came up and pulled us, old people, all the way to the end. Oh, now I have to climb up a bank to dry off and get on the bus. At that moment I had to accept that I was too old to do the things the younger people did. So on the way back, we were all laughing and joking. We were laughing that Robert had named us old people. So after the excitement, we decided that we were going to do some relaxing stough.

Robert decided we were going to grill out some steaks. He marinated them in some Dale’s and garlic. I wrapped some corn in tin foil and butter and put them on the grill. Deborah made a huge salad with all the fixings. This was a meal that was fit for a king. We sat back with a glass of wine and watched the water ripple. It was so peaceful here at the cabin in Blue Ridge. It was nice of Debi to let us borrow it. I, Deborah, and Ricky passed out in the lounge chairs and Robert said,” Those old people”. That turned out to be the theme of the weekend.

The next day, we decided to go into town for lunch and walk around. We ate at a little cafe that was very homey. The food was great. We walked around the town until we couldn’t walk anymore. We decided to go back to the cabin. I told Robert and Crystal not to let us hold them back if they wanted to do something else. There were many things to do in that area. Toccoa Falls is a place I have been to plenty of times. An Indian princess jumped off the falls because she couldn’t marry the man she loved. She had been given to an elderly man. She could not live with that.

Then there was Helen a Scandinavian town that was always fun. Just so many State Parks and little towns to visit. But, Robert said he had rather stay and hang out with us. My heart just pounded. Spending time with my boy was going to be awesome. We had not been close in the past. So I went to the porch and was reminiscing about my past memories. After my husband died, Crystal and I got close. She was the bridge to bringing my son closer to me. We hung out for a year at the gym but then she got pregnant. Oh, what a joy it was to have another grandbaby.

Deborah and I had been friends for fifty years. We took many trips to this cabin. We might be old but we had some exciting adventures. Neither of us had a sense of direction and we would always get lost driving. But we always were able to joke about it. One time Ricky wanted to walk up the driveway with the dogs. He was taking such a long time. We were calling him but no answer. Finally, we saw the flashlight shining. Here he comes all dirty. He had fallen down the embankment. Luckily he did not get hurt. These mishaps happened to us three all the time. Guess we were getting older.

It was time to pack up and go home cause I know my little dog was missing me. Off back to Atlanta we went. I apologized to Robert and Crystal for being so much trouble. They said,” Are you kidding? This was the best vacation we ever had!” We laughed and said it was a vacation for the old people.