And then it grows to look like this
Then you let them dry. I put some in the sun to speed up the process:
Then you shake the dried loofah to knock the seeds loose. It'll sound like a rain stick. Then you cut one end off and pour out the seeds. Then you peel your loofah and you have a natural sponge.
No matter how much time I spend with my grandsons, I will always want more time.It's not easy, in my old age I've become accustomed to going to bed when I'm tired and waking up when I want. None of this two am visiting. But I'll give up my eight hours of sleep to watch the hummingbirds or feed the neigh neighs (horses). There's nothing like a child reaching for you and finding comfort in your arms. Even more so if you didn't give birth to this child. I wish I could put in to words what my heart feels when I hear the word Granny or the feeling of getting a kiss or hug. If I could bottle it. I could pay for their colleges or race cars.
I wish I had a dollar for every time I asked the Lord that the Idiot would be ok. It started a long long time ago. There was a bicycle accident with lots of blood and a missing toe. Then there was a gang of older kids that wanted to beat him senseless but they wouldn't hit a girl to get to him. Then there was the time he got caught in a drained pond. We got him out, but I remember him losing his pants and shoes in the mud. Then there was a time he climbed to the very tippy top of a tree and wouldn't come down. He wanted mom to come and get him, but she just said he'd come down when he was hungry and he did. Then he got beat up with a metal pipe and hit by a car while jogging. Let's not forget collapsing in an iron man competition or the emergency appendectomy. I've said the prayer often and I'll keep repeating it. Lord, please let that idiot be ok. I love my brother.
Like my mom and sisters, I am afraid of heights. I've tried to get over it. I've been to Pikes Peak on a motorcycle, in a small car, and an rv. I've traveled the highest road in the US. I've hiked to Hawksbill Craig and went to the ledge for pictures. I've jumped at Falling Water Falls. I've ventured out onto the skywalk at the Grand Canyon (to be fair I sat down and scooted back to the building after I looked down). The point is I did these things even though I was afraid and nothing bad happened. My heart probably beat a little faster. So I'm back on the band wagon trying to conquer these fears and I'm going to learn to cut glass. I've had the glass cutter for two years. It's about time to dust it off. Now I'm not going to get carried away. There's no way in hell I will go pick raspberries by myself. The bears like them as much as I do.
I'm sitting down and it's kinda slow and I think to myself "I need to call Mom" and a couple of seconds later there's a stab to my heart and reality hits. She's been gone nine years and still my mind won't/can't process this fact. I could tell her anything. Rant. Cry. Voice unpopular opinions. It didn't matter. She'd listen. Sometimes cry with me. Sometimes telling me what I needed to hear. It was nice always having someone. No matter what, no matter when, no matter where. Miss you Mom.
