It's complicated...

 

As for change of plans and miscommunications…  I think both are a part of busy lives. That and the fact that the world moves faster, is more distracting and complicated than it used to be.  There always seems to be a lot bombarding us at once these days.  Sometimes I look back fondly at the days without cell phones, iPads, computers, etc.  Then I remember how scary and worrisome it was to not be able to call someone, how heavy dictionaries and encyclopedias were, and how difficult it was to correct a mistake on a typewriter. (Remember those?)

 I think I wrote about this fast-changing world a few years back (and maybe a couple of weeks ago) – but – a lot has changed since then for sure. Change has become an everyday thing. Let’s leave the damncovid out of it for now and all the changes that it brought about.  Let’s just think about new inventions and new ways of doing things. Let’s also put aside scary stuff like hackers compromising the security barriers of large corporations and individual identity thefts of all sorts.  Let’s focus on other less scary everyday life things. Let’s, for example, talk about weeds.

 So – just the other day I had the opportunity to watch my son-in-law burn weeds with a mini blow torch designed just for that purpose. To think that I previously thought the Grandpas’ Weeder was the best invention ever. Who knew? When I saw him using this wonderful invention, I thought to myself, “I think I need one of those weed torches now… if only to handle the weeds in the cracks of my patio.  Then again, I also thought “I can probably borrow his or better yet – get him to do it for me if I play my cards right.”  Now I thought these things because he is a good sport about stuff like that. Both he and my daughter are good that way – so are their kids.  I think it was last year – or maybe it was the year before that - they power washed everything in sight around my property including part of my fence. Anyway – guess what happened?  My son-in-law showed up the other evening with the torch in hand.  By the end of the evening there was nothing left in any of the cracks of my patio.  It was sort of Tom Sawyer kind of thing – everyone here insisting on trying out the torch – so much fun to watch those pesky, hard to grasp crevice weeds burst into flames and blow away. Amazing what 7 people can accomplish with one little weed torch. I should have known I could count on him. I didn’t even have to play my cards….  He also used this wonderful invention to edge part of my gardens and rock gardens. (I have one of these torches backordered as I type. Plus -- I already purchased a small propane tank to have ready for when it arrives… not that I am excited about it or anything.)  Now here’s the thing.  They aren’t really called torches.  I forget the actual name even though I have been “corrected” many times.  Don’t care.

 Anyway -- while I am on the subject of helpful, I have to tell you that I am double blessed -- my son and his family are also great about doing stuff around here – it’s just that they only get back to this neck of the woods once or twice a year in non-pandemic times.  My son and his wife are particularly excellent at cleaning out basements (I mean outstanding! No cobweb left standing. The last time they went down stairs, we had two pickup truck loads of stuff move to a new home. Impressive, right?  My son is also especially good at trimming every tree/shrub/bush within sight and then burning the cuttings. It’s just another one of his many talents. Plus, it is always fun if the weather cooperates. Marshmallows cooked over one of the pasture burn pile fires he makes to clean up all the clippings from one of those trimming fests are also tasty.  By the way -- did you know that one can purchase marshmallows with chocolate inside now?  S’more making has taken on a whole new meaning. I never could get the chocolate to melt properly. Chocolate inside Marshmallows is a good kind of change for sure.  Fun times….

 Now here is the perfect combo… tried and true…. one can start a burn pile of clippings with a weed-burning torch.  Perfect. Yep --The world is fast changing for sure in many ways, and … perhaps not all change is bad when I think about it and… I am not a fan of change…usually.   It’s complicated.