I cannot even begin to count the number of my friends who came to stay at camp Dee Dee. The number of people in my life that she welcomed with open arms. That she loved and who loved her. She knew each person’s favorite foods, drinks, and ice creams (obviously). I just can’t comprehend how many lives she’s touched if she’s had this massive of an effect on her grand-child’s peers… she has connected with at least five generations.
Dee Dee would wait outside, in the rain and freezing cold, jumping up and down if you were about to arrive (usually for hours before you actually arrived). She’d have all of your favorite foods all ready for you. She would have baked fresh cookies — both oatmeal raisin and chocolate chip, just in case you had a hankering for one or the other. The starburst jar would be freshly filled (to provide all with the recommended servings of vitamin C) and there would be cheese, crackers, and grapies out, ready and waiting for you.
The house was stocked. If there was an apocalypse, she could feed dozens of people for weeks. But then you wanted to go out to the Rio Grill or Rocky Point and wouldn’t even end up opening the fridge… except to add leftovers to it. 🙂
You call as you arrive home and she would ask when you were coming again. After you left, she would be eating the leftovers and food that she had purchased for your visit for weeks. And then she would begin to stock the fridge again…