I can remember spending many nights at my Grandma and Grandad Bailey's house. During the summers we stayed for weeks at a time. We loved it. Looking back, I don't know how she managed to keep her sanity. It wasn't just me and my siblings there, it was ALL the cousins. At any given time she would have 7 to 8 kids running in and out of the house, sometimes more when we brought a friend.
Grandma never minded though. She loved us being there. I can not remember a single time that she lost her patience and yelled at us. That's not to say she didn't get on to us. I remember her chasing the older cousins around with a switch from the tree or more often, her fly swatter. I don't remember ever getting a whipping myself, though I am sure I must have. Grandma had a paddle hanging on her wall that someone had decorated and given her. "Grandma's Paddle" was written across it. I don't remember the paddle ever leaving her wall. Grandma and Grandad both were easy-going, never yelling or screaming at any of us. Their patience seemed limitless.......or maybe that is why Grandad spent so much time out in the shed.
