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Friday, June 21, 2013

There will be pictures


Nothing, but nothing irritates me more than a “bored” child. Had we tried that line on our parents we would have been spading gardens or setting up a croquet game or any of the stuff parents had in reserve. 

I’m good at finding jobs, and these kids have turned out to be quite cheerful job tacklers. No one has tried the bored line, yet.

Way back in early spring the high school sent out a notice of Summa taking applications for summer “interns.”  So you relate to that at once, in our day they were “candy strippers”, and Summa is one of the two major hospital systems in the greater Akron area.

The screening process may have been rigorous back then; it certainly is now. A multi page application, complete with an essay.  Screening meetings, orientation meetings, TB testing, ID badges.  Teenagers with ID badges, for crying out loud.  It’s a new world; I shake my head. It’s the way it is for them. And, it is a hospital.

For the first screening meeting I told Hamilton and Emily they needed tan khaki trousers and nice shirts. That was OK with Hamilton, but Emily is a little too fond of “skinny” jeans and tees.  There was a bit of persuasion required.  Then the directive from Summa, business casual required.  Emily double checked at school to confirm business casual, and she and Hamilton went shopping.

My heart went pitty pat when I dropped them for the screening and my two business casual grand kids walked away.  I cursed forgetting my camera (this before I knew how to take pictures on my phone!).

Today is their first day, noon to four.  Hamilton will be calling out-patients to remind them of appointments; Emily will be filing in “Wound Management.” Driving them to St. Thomas I warned them, “There will be pictures.” Yea, we know, gramma.

“Well, I’ll just be the grandmother who ruined your teenage years, because there will be pictures.”

And Emily, bless her little heart, said “It’s not like ‘this is a picture moment’, and you whip out the camera. You tell a story.  Like that biography you found of your great grandfather and I took it to school for my genealogy project.”

Now, if they just stop saying “like!”

My Aunt Ruth, IHM, was a nurse, and worked at St. Thomas long, long ago, when it was the Catholic hospital.  Emily’s middle name is Ruth.  Aunt Ruth would be proud.

So, our summer is settling out.  Emily has lots of library volunteering and Summa.  Hamilton has being commandeered by his sister, Summa, and McDonalds, to pay his car insurance.  Laura makes bird houses with Uncle Tom and goes to the library.

In July Emily is going to State College, Pennsylvania, to help Linda at a major art show at Penn State.  Hamilton is going to church camp.  Band camp at the end of July, and then school starts in August.  Hard to believe, and there will be pictures.


Stand over there


Turn around and smile.



18 comments:

  1. at least they let you take pictures.

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  2. They don't have time to be bored thanks to you.
    And it wasn't a concept that entered my head as a child...there was always plenty to do without adults finding it for you.

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  3. That's the ticket...keep them busy. So busy they pass themselves coming North going South.

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  4. I think they look VERY professional. Please tell them that.

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  5. So nice to see and read about your grandchildren being so "gainfully employed and engaged" this summer. Time flies by for us oldies but a week can seem like an eternity to a young person and a summer ahead probably sounds very long. At least until they come to the end of it ;-)

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  6. They sound like they are pretty nice people and that's always something to be proud of.
    Merle.

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  7. You are one fabulous Grandma...they are going to make you so proud!
    Jane x

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  8. And there not bored!

    I'm with you on that one, it is not my job to make sure kids are entertained 24/7!

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  9. They look very "presentable", as my mom would say :)

    They are going to be SO happy they worked (volunteering is work, too) when it comes time to look for full-time work. Experience is the hardest thing to get, and very often more important than the subjects studied.

    You have done an admirable job with your grandchildren in a short time, Joanne. I am full of optimism for them. And full of cheering for you!

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  10. you've reminded me of when I told my parents I was bored. Ha.

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  11. No, no, no - bored was not a word which crossed our lips (twice). My parents also found things for bored children to amuse themselves with...
    And I love all of their activities. You are SUCH a wonderful grandmother.

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  12. So cute and they will love having that picture when they are older.

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  13. Ah, they look like total professionals! You must be so proud and pleased.
    Yes, funny how some words are a red rag to a bull. "Bored" gets me irritated, too, specially if said in a whiney tone!

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  14. They do look wonderful dressed and ready for action!
    I think back to my own childhood...for my entire school career, my summers were spent lazing on a beach, or climbing trees and reading. Always reading. Jobs were never even mentioned. Even around the house, I did nothing. Until I moved to live with mum at 16. I can tell you now, that doing nothing for all those years didn't teach me a thing. But I learned a lot once I started working and mum had me doing things around the house too. Your grandchildren are so lucky to have you guiding them.

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  15. That was nice about telling a story which you do very well.
    These teens are a credit to you and themselves.

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  16. You are such a supportive grandma! I'm sure they're proud to have you :)

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  17. I can't remember ever being bored as a child, although I was an only child, but then that was back in the 1930s-1940s so you just got on with whatever was available and was content with it.

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  18. Yep. No bored kids here, either!
    I love that they appreciate your stories of the past! Not many kids do. They are truly a treasure!

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