Helping others is something I care about.  It’s one of the philosophies I want to leave behind to all my grandkids… an understanding of – and appreciation for – ‘giving back.’  Making the world a little better, being compassionate and thougthful as we journey through our lives.

You are kind and thoughtful, so this has already been implanted in your makeup.  I love this about you.

In this spirit – never more appreciated or relevant than at Christmas – you joined me for the second year in a row as we visited St. Charles Children’s Home in Rochester, New Hampshire.  Ainsley came too – it was her first time.

I had called in advance to find out what “the kids” might appreciate and need.  Talk about coincidences… the woman I deal with every year who works there is named Pat Beaupre.  No relation…  a very nice lady.  I always call her “sis” when I see her.

We had a variety of presents for the kids… an infant car seat, activity books, DVDs and restaurant gift certificates. Our gifts were colorfully wrapped and looked great.

I wasn’t sure we would be able to visit this year – it had been a very stormy day with crazy, monsoon rain and high winds.  The Clickman kids were going to join us, but at the time of pickup it was the peak of weather wildness, so they had to pass.

When I arrived at your house, you were just getting off the bus.  Your Mom explained what I was doing there (I had set it up ahead of time with her) and you started to cry.  I told her “Camden doesn’t have to come if he doesn’t want to.”  I thought you wanted to stay home and play with your friends.

At first your Mom said you were upset because you thought I was there to play with you.  Then she said you remembered being upset last year when we visited.  Interesting.  You never seemed upset at the time, but you did talk a lot about the little kids who didn’t have any parents. I blogged about your first visit there one year ago by the way, so you can read about it.

Your sister was eager to go and she quickly climbed into the Youk and I buckled her in.  Raring to go!  Soon after you decided to come and climbed inside.  And you were fine.

The weather had miraculously settled down and the sky was beginning to lighten as the storm clouds parted.  It was a minor miracle as we began our journey to Rochester.

Along the way you somehow got to talking about the first people who ever lived.  I asked where they came from, how they got here, and you said:

I think it was God.

A very profound thought, so I probed a little bit, asking if your Mom and Dad had talked to you about that. You said

no, that’s just what I think

Through the windshield I noticed a beautiful rainbow in the sky. I pulled over and we got out to observe one of those rare fully formed rainbows that graced the entire sky. I held Ainsley in my arms and you stood beside me as we looked at the wonder.  We counted the number of different colors that make up a rainbow and said the colors out loud.

We talked about the kids again…  you explained how they didn’t have any parents and “are orphans.”  I could tell this was a complicated topic for you to think about. We discussed how lucky we are and how it’s important to help others.  I said, “if you have any questions once we get in the Children’s home, feel free to ask them.”  You said:

don’t worry, I will, I’m not shy.

A few minutes later we had arrived and unloaded the presents. Ainsley wanted to go play on the playground across the street, but I told her we were there to visit the kids plus everything was soaking wet!

Pat Beaupre greeted us…I gave her a friendly hug. She ushered us into the living room where the Christmas tree presided. We chatted for awhile and I explained how I had secretly marked each wrapped present with a special code so they could figure out who should get each one.

They were very kind and appreciative.  We told them we were happy we could help.  We gathered for a photo by the tree – just the two of you, me and a nun from Saint Charles.  We never saw any of the kids. They probably do this on purpose; after all we are complete strangers to them aren’t we?

Soon we said our goodbyes, wishing everyone a hearty…

Merry Christmas!!

I thought we’d go straight home, but Ainsley insisted on getting some food.  She was very insistent, not giving up on her quest.  Knowing Ainsley the way I did, I figured she probably hadn’t eaten much of anything all day and was starving.  We drove through the drive-in at McDonald’s.  Ainsley devoured her happy meal, eating every single bite of everything, which is very unlike her!  You had a McFlurry with M&M’s.

As we drove home, I asked you guys what you thought of the day.  Ainsley quickly piped up, saying:

next year when I come, I want to see some kids!

We sang Carols as we made our way home. The crowd favorite was “A Holly Jolly Christmas.” I love that song too.

Seeing your tired but happy little faces in my rear view mirror, I thought of how incredibly lucky I am to have you in my life.  I hope you enjoyed our little journey of giving back and weren’t upset.  Let’s remember how lucky we are, all the days of our life.  I love you Camden.

I’ve always been a fan of board games.

I remember playing – and loving – Candy Land and Chutes & Ladder when I was a real little kid.  Later on – still pre-teen – my favorites were Stratego, Twister, Monopoly, Life and chess.   Stratego was the best … I still play it via a phone app called “the General.”

When I was in my late teens and early 20′s, I became a big fan of Risk.  I really liked the battles, strategy and premise:  conquer the world!  I’d play this with my friends for hours which is literally how long it takes to finish it.  Grammy HATES this game!

When your Dad was a little boy, he loved video games, but we’d also play a wide range of board games including the classics like Monopoly, Mouse Trap, Clue and Battleship.  Your Aunt Nicole’s favorite was Mall Madness, a game I’ve since introduced you & Ainsley to:

“There’s a sale at the Fashion boutique and a clearance at the Department store and a sale at the record shop.”

Be the first player to buy something at six different stores and return to the parking lot and you win Mall Madness!

In 1981, a unique board game was launched called Dark Tower.  I bought it and couldn’t get enough.  It’s a battle game, but unlike traditional board games, it featured an electronic Tower that automatically kept track of each player’s assets (food, warriors, weapons, gold) and managed ongoing battles and supply purchases at the Bazzaar.

The object is to move your warrior around the board through four kindgdoms and return back to your original home location, while winning battles (sometimes losing) and accumulating three keys.  Along the way there are dragons, warriors get lost, sometimes get the plague and they can even starve. 

Once back in your home kindgdom, having accumulated a big enough but well-fed army, you launch a final attack against the Dark Tower brigands having first solved “the riddle of the keys.”  If your warriors defeat the brigands, you win the game.

Around Thanksgiving, I taught you and Ben the basics and we played awhile.  But you had to leave before we finished and you guys were NOT happy about it.  I promised to play with you again soon and finish an entire game.

A week or so later, Grammy and I stayed with you, Ainsley and Madigan for a couple days while your parents went to a wedding in Connecticut. I brought two board games over: Dark Tower and Mall Madness.  We ended up playing them 2-3 times apiece.

You loved Dark Tower and caught on quickly – it’s a fairly complicated game with 40+ pages of instructions – and we moved our warriors steadily around the board.  You really enjoyed the battles (which is the only way to win gold and keys), the ongoing sound effects and strategy. We were both disappointed every time the Dark Tower randomly “cursed” us, giving some of our warriors and gold to the other player!

Nearly two hours later you had assembled a large enough army to attack the Dark Tower and fight the brigands.   Luckily, you had enough Warriors to battle successfully, and as the countdown continued (“27 brigands, 27 warriors… 25 warriors, 24 brigands… 24 brigands, 23 warriors… 23 warriors, 20 brigands…23 warriors, 15 brigands… and so on) you finally were announced the Dark tower winner as the monitor displayed a warrior proudly holding a sword above his head.

Here’s a photo of you after you had won – you were very excited.  I hope we get to do it again soon.