Granny Grand-Girl Camp & Paying it Forward Experience

Josie Cluff, Lesley Cannon, Taiha Bradshaw, Granny,Victoria Cannon

This summer I held Granny-grand-girl camp.  My oldest granddaughters, Tori, Lesley, Taiha, and Josie,  usually opt for a sleepover at my house instead of the “camp” experience.  This year I did not give them a choice.  I told them we were going to the mountain, sleeping at our camp for two nights, and then spending a day in Panquitch, a little mountain town just 25 miles from our camp. The first night we played a rumor game around the campfire.  After smores, I led them out to the clearing where I had set up a big tarp.  I asked them to take a pillow and blanket, and after putting heads together in the middle, we looked at the stars while I shared some spiritual experiences of my youth.  After drawing straws for the bed spots, most of them giggled for hours after I put in my earplugs. The next day it was up for breakfast and off to Panquich’s Quilt Walk Days. I asked them to save their money for some girly purchase.  They worked hard and each came prepared with a little cash.  I asked them to just browse through the shops for a few hours and then we would return to stores for final purchase, as I did not want to carry bags around all afternoon.  The first store we went to was where Taiha realized she had lost her $20 out of her pants pocket.  She was so sad because she had worked hard for her money.  When we returned later in the day, the storeowner asked where the girl was that had lost her money.  My girls explained that she had not found it so she had not returned to buy earrings like they had.  After the girls had made their selection of pretty silver earrings with different colored stones, the owner told them to go choose a pair that they thought Taiha would like.  She put them in a bag to give to her asking for the following story to be told.  When the storeowner was a little girl, she had worked hard to earn $5 for a fair and carnival coming to her town.  Excitedly she arrived only to find on her first purchase that she had lost the $5 out of her pocket.  She burst into tears and a man asked why she was crying.  She explained she had worked hard for her money and had lost it.  He gave her $5 telling her, “One day you will meet a girl who will have lost her money and that is when you can pay me back”. The other day I saw the silver feather green stone earrings dangling from Taiha’s ear.  I was quickly reminded of the sweet experience of my grand girls and the kindly shop owner, and I pray they will always remember this simple example of paying it forward.  We had a great time together on Cedar Mountain at our camp.  They were such a joy and we plan to repeat it next year.