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Not me. I ain't ya typical grandmother. For one thing my girls call me Grammy and are quite sure the award show of the same name is in my honor. One day I'll tell them the truth, but not now.
Let me back track...as I often do. I am a confessed roller coaster junkie.  I love the thrill of the ride on a good roller coaster as the wind whips my hair around and my stomach jumps up a couple of notches and other body parts pucker (ya know what I mean!).
We have a local amusement park that is home to the Cannon Ball. A very nice coaster. It has a wooden frame and a steep rise with a vertical fall and twists and turns. All in all it is a good ride. The oldest g'girl couldn't wait until she was tall enough to ride the coaster. We measured every month during one particular Fall/Winter/early Spring. She finally hit the magic mark of being tall enough to ride! We hit the park on the opening day and went straight to the Cannon Ball. I think we ended up riding it 10 times that day. She is a bit of a dare-devil and will ride anything with me.
Second g'girl had never been on a coaster.She is seven years old. She finally hit the magic height mark and we are waiting for opening day at Lake Winnepasauka (yep, that's is its real name!). She didn't have to wait!
Yesterday we got up early and headed to Dollywood in Pigeon Forge. They have four million lights (who counted?) and a wonderful Christmas display. We saw a marvelous production of "Babes in Toyland" that was quite well done. We saw a 4-D movie of a shortened version of Polar Express. You could smell the cocoa and feel the wind! Quite impressive, too.
But then...my heart was filled with joy and gladness when G'Girl #2 announced she wanted to ride the Tennessee Tornado and wanted me to be in the seat beside her. I felt a tear well up as I realized she was about to experience her first roller coaster ride and wanted me to be her guest. Mom and Dad and G'Girl#1 were all set to join us! As we approached the gate she squeezed my hand and said "I would be scared if you weren't here with me." Oh my dear little one, I hope I'm always there with you!!
We rode the Tennessee Tornado! It has three loops and two corkscrews! It's like driving a race car around the Indy 500 on your first time behind the wheel of a car! None of that "beginner" stuff! Nope...we hit the big one on her maiden voyage of coasters. We held hands and laughed and screamed and enjoyed a moment that will live forever in my heart. I hope she, too, will always remember that day and that ride.
Dollywood has several coaster rides, but this is the grandest of all. We have season passes so when the weather is nicer we will spend a day there and ride all of them...maybe several times!
She can't wait for school to resume so she can tell all her classmates about her day at Dollywood and the ride on the Tennessee Tornado!
Cookies crumble and are gone too soon. You can only knit so many things. But the thrill of that coaster ride...oh my! As we approached the gate we talked about facing your fears and going on when you may want to turn back. I tried to slip a little 'life lesson' in there. She never once wanted to go back and sit on the bench with her Pappy and baby sister. She was excited about this new adventure in her life. And I was there to watch.Â
That, my dear friends, is the kind of grandmother I always want to be...encouraging, adventurous and supportive. We can make cookies when I'm old. We can knit when I learn how. But for now, we will ride coasters!
Mz Scarlett...feeling mighty fine!
 
