Bein a Grandkid is Grand.

Today, my younger sister and I went to pick up some mulch, gardening dirt and fertilizer. It was heavy, dusty, expensive and smelled like poop. We took it to my Granny and Poppa's house and got to work in their little front flower bed, trying to turn their hard packed clay, into suitable ground for new azaleas. Did you know that all things do not grow in the same dirt? That dirt can actually be acidic or alkaline? I didn't. But now I do. And we did our best trying to make some alkaline clay into acidic dirt, since azaleas only grow in acidic soil.

We dug in the dirt. We squished spiders and worms. We didn't talk about anything beyond, "Oh hey, lemme hack at that, you can use the shovel now." And it was amazing. We got filthy dirty, streaking red earth all over our clothes and flip flopped feet. Tip: wear real shoes when gardening. We worked hard, and in the end their flower bed looked like a flower bed.

Then we went inside to wash our hands and Granny had made us a pile of grilled cheeses and some chicken noodle soup. The white bread, american cheese, salt water with noodles kind. And we split a coke and had ice cream after. No whole wheat, chicken or cheese substitute or low sugar to be found. I was a grandkid again, being spoiled by Granny and kissed by Poppa like I was 12. It was an afternoon out of my childhood and it totally made my week. I am so thankful to still have grandparents and to be able to spend time with them.