“Nana Camp”

[Call Me Cordelia]

When I was a kid, we would go to "Camp Grandma" for a week. It was always always referred to that way. Never "Camp Grandma and Grandpa." He was kind of erased, reduced to a chauffeur really for all the stuff Grandma planned.

Well, my friend with an uNM has instituted "Nana Camp" when all her grandchildren come. Papa's there too, but it's Nana Camp.  What the heck?

[clara]

Wow, the bad memories...

I went to "grandma camp" when I was a kid, for about a week.  My grandmother had a psychological disorder that to this day I can't quite figure, but seemed a combination of PDs, with a strong narc component.  It was all about her all the time, but as I kid I had a lot of fun until her PD exploded one summer and I was a terrible, ungrateful, nasty granddaughter.  When my parents came to pick me up, my mom and her mom had a horrible fight then we all left to decamp to my aunt's and that was the end of it.  I never again spent time alone with my grandmother.  But my grandfather was all but erased not only during those times but in general.  My grandmother clearly loved him, but he existed only as her source of support and didn't interact much with us and didn't seem to want to.  I think he was pretty miserable but was resigned to his life because he couldn't leave her (since she couldn't function on her own although he made her life miserable in other, passive-aggressive ways).  In retrospect, it seemed a lot of "nana camp" was her attempt to indoctrinate me into her way of thinking and her attitude that others were to be used for what they could or might give, but otherwise people were no good and not worth your time etc.  My grandmother had no friends, was basically estranged from her family and pretty much hated everyone (again, except my grandfather) and wanted a "mini-me" to reflect her disturbed mindset. 

At the time, I was upset and confused over her behavior, but I now realize spending less time around this toxic woman was for the best.