Hayden's Camp Mimi, Summer 2020

Oh my sweet Hayden Michael.

I just love having that one on one time with this sweet boy.  I love that he still gets excited about coming to Mimi and Papa's house.  

As I have done since he was so little, I placed a little note on the bed in the quest room.  It's the beginning of his scavenger hunt.  On the hunt, he finds little gifts....some of the craft supplies that we will be doing, usually a lego kit, maybe a special treat.  It's so funny.  I met Angie at Central Market to get him.  He comes running out of her car with the biggest grin on his face.  There's this other little "look" though too.....like he's itching to ask me, but trying not to.  We visit a minute and then put his things in the car, say goodbye to mom and off we go.  I barely got the car on George Bush - looking in the rear view and seeing that same look - and out it comes...."Mimi, is there a scavenger hunt today?".  I LOVE it.  I always kid with him and tell him no.  But he knows.  Only ONE time has he come for the night when there WASN;T a scavenger hunt - and that was a time when Addy came too and was last minute.  I didn't have time to do one.  Since that time, he always asks =)

That first afternoon, He helped me make tags for my Meals on Wheels peeps.  He was so sweet making them.

Another thing I love so much....these grands of mine....I think they each want to hang on to pieces of their childhood.  That makes me happy because it means they loved so much those moments.  I asked Hayden if he still wanted his pallet on the floor that night - with me sleeping on the couch - and he said without even a moments thought - YES!  I fixed his pallet all comfy with really fluffy blankets and pillows.  He asks me "Hey Mimi, where's my Spiderman sleeping bag?" - I had no idea he would want that sleeping bag.  Thankfully, I knew exactly where it was and although it was a whole lot smaller this summer, he managed to crawl inside and have me zip it up.  I also asked him that night when we had dinner - "Hayden, do you still want to drink out of your little cup?  I didn't know if you were too big for that now" - "Mimi, I want my cup and also my plate!"  When he saw how little the plate was, he said "Well, maybe I will use a real plate tonight.  Dinner might now fit on that plate!" - Papa was cooking burgers on the grill and I made French fries.  See....how sweet is that?  He remembers all the little things....and he still wants those things when he visits Mimi and Papa.  I asked him what in the world was I going to do when he was 15 or 16....would he still want to come to Camp Mimi - "Of course I will Mimi, and when I am 16, the scavenger hunt can end with a car" =)

We watched a movie that first night.  Night at the Museum.  It's a movie we watched for the first time a few Camp Mimis ago.....but he loved when the monkey that came to life pees on the guard.  Oh that boy is all boy!  

His momma told him he could bring his iPad but he wasn't allowed to ask me for it.  He spends hours upon hours on that thing....but not ONCE all weekend did he ask for it.  The next morning, I asked if he would like to get his iPad while I cooked his breakfast and he did.  But just for a short time.  He loved his breakfast....a breakfast sandwich with scrambled eggs (he helped me make), rubbery bacon (I know....but that's how he loves it) and cheese.  Then it was off to do Meals on Wheels with Mimi and Papa.  Hayden was SO kind and sweet to all the clients.  Corona virus pandemic Meals on Wheels is quite the experience!

This sweet man was kind enough to let us take a picture with him.  He's actually the father of the client.  His son Lance is special needs because of a deformity and health issues.  Lance wasn't there today.  I am sad.  I wanted Lance to meet Hayden.

There's another house on the route though that I told Hayden about before we got there.  I wanted him to be aware before we got there the circumstances of the client.  It's a horrible situation.  Will lives in a trailer home.  You have to walk through the biggest "junk yard" - full of trash and old junky things, so many cats and stuff....then the inside.  It's worse than the outside.  The floor is trashed out big time....cats, dogs, junk everywhere and nothing....I mean nothing is taken care of.  3 day old pizza sitting open on tables, stained carpet, you can't even see the floor, I just can't even explain how bad it is.  I told Hayden how blessed he was....to be born into such a precious family....with a momma and daddy that provide for he and his sisters and love him unconditionally.  I told him not everyone is as blessed.  That sometimes the things we do in life, the choices we make,  can lead to a very different life.  That's the story of this man.  He is younger than me and all he does all day is sit in a recliner and watch TV. I am not sure of his health issues, but home health has been there and tried rehab, but Will's "want to" is just not there.  The nurse told me he has no motivation....his spirit is gone.  It makes me think, had he made different choices in his life how different his life would be.  I have tried to encourage him - I have prayed with him, but he's always so down - all the drapes drawn, just tv and half eaten food everywhere.  Breaks my heart.  I think it made an impression on Hayden.  I hope it did.  

After Meals on Wheels, we stopped by Target.  Hayden's birthday was the weekend before and we only gave him one gift.  I just didn't know what to get him so I told him we would go to Target during his Camp Mimi and let him pick something out.  He searched that store for the longest....picking this up and hauling them around the toy department only to put it back down and choose something else.  He had the hardest time making up his mind!  

These were two things he had for a long time, but then put them back, rationalizing all the way, and finally chose the thing he picked up at the very first.

He was so excited with his purchase.  He also picked up a game in the electronics section....it was pretty expensive.  When he saw the price he put it right back.  But Mimi went and got it the next day.  I couldn't help myself!

We did a couple of crafts during Camp Mimi too.....One was tye-dyed coasters.....and then we painted rocks too.  He had fun putting together his Lego set that he got on his scavenger hunt too.  Oh,  and Hayden cooked dinner for us one night.  He said "yuck....I am touching RAW chicken!" but he was very proud of himself and the meal he cooked.  Oven fried chicken, corn on the cob and baked beans.  Every time he comes, we have corn on the cob and baked beans.  We usually get Cain's fried chicken....but not this time.  We let Hayden the Chef do the cooking!

and then our craft projects:

We had all good intentions of planting our rock creations at the town square for people to find as they walk around.....but 2 things.  One we ran out of time, but then Hayden wanted to keep all but the red one.  

It was a special time with one very special little boy.  I am so blessed to be able to have such a precious relationship with him.  We talked about Jesus a lot.  It's my prayer that this will be the year he asks Jesus into his heart.  When he was little, he knew so many bible verses and things about Jesus.  One of my favorites and I have probably blogged about this years before, but just in case, I am writing it again....because it was truly the sweetest thing ever....

He was about 3 or so....and he was at our house for his Camp Mimi.  I had my mom's piano there in the living room.  It was around Easter and at preschool, they had been talking about Easter, what happened at Easter time....about Jesus being on the cross and then his resurrection.  Anyway, I was in the kitchen cooking and I hear Hayden on the piano and he's banging it really really loud.  I ran in and told him we had to be very careful with the piano, that it was my momma's and it was very old.  He said "but Mimi, this.....(and he pounded the lower keys SO hard) is when the mean ole soldiers put Jesus on the "tross" and then he pounded ever so softly on the upper high keys and said "but Mimi, THIS is when he died for us".  Oh my goodness, I melted right there.  Tears.  This little boy just used to do things like that all the time....spouting off bible verses, immersed in the stories of Jesus and his love, the Bible.  As he's gotten older though, and especially with this pandemic and not going to church, he just seems farther away from his faith.  I talked to him about Jesus this weekend....about kindness and love and doing things for others.  I talked to him about how God gives each of us gifts to use in our lives....things that we are good at that bring us so much joy....I gave him the example of his dad....I asked him what he thought his daddy's gift might be and he couldn't say...but then I told him, it's GIVING.  I asked him if he had ever noticed how much joy is written on his daddy's face when he gives Hayden a special toy or does something special for him.  He said "mimi, my daddy gave me a lego set that costs 150.00!"  I asked him why he thought his daddy might have gotten that special toy for him - he said "because he loves me" - I told him yes....and because it brought him so much joy in giving it to him.  I told him I thought my special gift was helping the elderly and that that was why I loved doing Meals on Wheels so much.  I told him I also had a passion for cooking and that it's the way I love on people, and how I learned that special gift from my momma who did the very same thing.  I said one day Hayden, "you will realize what special gifts God has equipped you with and you will get so much happiness using those gifts!"  I think he got it.  I hope he did.  

This sweet boy has such a BIG heart.  Such a special heart.  He never fails to say please and thank you.....the last night he spent with us he came down with a horrible sore throat.  He really felt bad.  Angie suggest maybe some hot chocolate would help so I made him homemade hot chocolate.  The next morning his throat hurt so bad so I made him another cup of hot chocolate....with extra whipped cream =)

I was in the kitchen making his breakfast and after taking him his hot chocolate - after a few minutes he comes running in the kitchen and throws him arms around me and says "Thank you Mimi for making me hot chocolate".  Just the little things.....they mean so much. 

As I write this, I now have his sore throat and feel horrible.  But I don't care.  I had the sweetest time with Hayden Michael Corley

and for that I am SO grateful!

Thank You Lord for blessing me with the sweetest family ever.

P.S.  He lost a tooth while he was with us!