Sand Through The Hour Glass

 Day 21

Sands Through The Hour Glass

One hour.

That’s how long it takes the sand to run through the top bulb into the bottom bulb of an hour glass.

One hour.

That's how long it takes 10 oz of sand to pass from the top to the bottom.

One hour.

Amanda sat on the floor watching the sand spill into the bottom bulb.  It was pure white sand.  The sand from the beach where she met him.  The love of her life.

He built the hour glass as a wedding present.

Every day he would call her and say he was on his way home from work.

"One hour," he would say.  "Flip the hour glass and I'll be home before it runs out."

Every day he did as promised and always made it home before the sand ran out.

But one day he didn't make it home.

The sand ran out.  He wasn't there.

'Maybe if I flip it again he'll be home' she thought.

She flipped.

One hour.  He still wasn't home.  She flipped it again.

One hour.  He still wasn't home.  She flipped it again.

Hour after hour, she flipped it.  He never came home.

She just kept watching the sands through the hour glass.

Shopping List For Lasagna

 Day 20

Shopping List For Lasagna

Lena sat at the kitchen counter staring at the blank paper in front of her.  This was the day she knew was coming but not ready for.

"I can do this for you Mom," her son said.  "Just make the list of things you need and Carrie and I will shop and get everything ready for tomorrow."

"It was my father's last wish," Lena said.  "He said after his funeral he wanted his family to get together and have dinner. He wanted his favorite meal, lasagna, and wanted us to remember all the good things about him."

"He taught me to cook," she added, picking up her pen. "Lasagna is the first meal he taught me.  He and my grandma pulled me into the kitchen and told me how to prepare it."

"First," she said as she began to write.  "You need to make the sauce.  Never use store bought sauce.  So for this you need:

About 6 lbs of Roma tomatoes. Make sure they are firm.  I used to love to help peel them.

One large yellow onion.  It adds flavor.  I used to laugh because they made my father cry.

Fresh garlic.  Your father used to tell me he hated the smell of garlic.  But I told him, 'I'm Italian.  I have to use garlic.  The more the better.

Fresh Basil and Fresh Parsley.  Some people use dried but I prefer fresh.  They make the house smell so good.

Then for the lasagna:  

You need a good lasagna noodle.  Don't use ready to bake.  I think it's cheating

Mozzarella cheese.  My Dad always used fresh.  And always a little extra so I can snack on it while preparing.

Ricotta cheese.  NEVER! NEVER! Use cottage cheese.  

A good bread to make garlic bread and plenty of olive oil.  Get a good brand.

Lena handed the shopping list to her son.  He took it, hugging her tight.

"Is there anything else you need?" he asked

"Yes," she answered.  "But you can't find it in any store.  You just need to add plenty of love."

Lena watched as her son left to go shopping.  

Later that evening they gathered in the kitchen making lasagna.  Lena knew this is exactly what her father would have wanted.

Crystal's Journal

 Day 19

Crystal's Journal

"Date July 21, 1069

Mommy and Daddy woke me up late last night to watch the astronauts land on the moon.  It was pretty cool.  A boy in my class said it was impossible because the moon was made of cheese.  But Mrs Miller told him it wasn't true.  I can't wait to go back to school to tell David he was wrong."

Christina closed the journal she was reading to her granddaughter.  It was written almost fifty seven years ago.

They were sitting on the couch in the living room watching a breaking news story of Artemis 11 launching.

"I remember watching Apollo 11 take off," Christina said.  "I was so excited.  It was then I wanted to be the first girl to go to space.  I wanted to be the first female astronaut."

"That wasn't going to happen for reasons that don't matter," Christina added.  "The science of it always intrigued me.  That's why I became a science teacher."

"Can I be an astronaut?" Crystal asked.

"You can be anything you want." Christina said hugging hugging her granddaughter tight.

That night Christina gave Crystal a journal so she keep one of her own.  She opened it and began to write:

Date 4/1/26

Dear Journal,

Today I witness a piece of history.  A spaceship took off to make a trip into space that had not happened in 50 years.  I watched it with Grammy.  She told me about when Apollo took off when she was about my age.  She told me she wanted to be an astronaut but she actually became a science teacher and taught her students about space.

Love, Crystal

Date 4/2/26

Dear Journal,

I couldn't wait to get home from school today to watch the news.  I wanted to see where Artemis 11 was.  I listened as the astronauts did their systems checks. Grammy said this is where they leave the Earth's gravity and head to the Moon.  I really hope someday that I can make that trip.  Grammy wanted to be the first female in space.  She told me about Sally Ride the first female in space and Christa McAuliffe who would have been the first teacher in space.  She told me how Christa died when the Challenger blew up.  Grammy was very said by this.  I want to be just like Grammy and be a teacher and I want to go to space too.

Love, Crystal

Date 4/4/26

Dear Journal

Sorry I didn't write yesterday.  But I do watch the news every day.  I like watching them float around the space ship.  Grammy and I laughed at this.  I can't wait to see the pictures they take of the far side of the moon.  Grammy told me that some people don't believe that people actually landed on the moon.  She told me about the boy named, David who thought that the moon was made of cheese.  She was proud to tell him he was wrong.

Love, Crystal

Date 4/5/26

Dear Journal

I hurried home from church just to see what the news was saying about Artemis.  Grammy has been buying and saving newspapers for me.  She bought me some books about the history of space travel.  The more I read the more I really want to go to space.  I'm hoping that by the time I'm grown up we can go to other planets.

Love, Crystal,

Date 4/6/26  

Our teacher let us watch the news today so we can see what is happening.  We watched as it traveled to the far side of the moon.  Artemis lost communication with the earth for a few minutes.  I held my breath.  It made history again by traveling further than any other human space ship did before.  I told my teacher that I want to go to space and travel even further.  She patted me on my head and told me to just keep my grades up.

Love, Crystal

Date 4/9/26

Dear Journal,

The news said Artemis was on its way back to earth.  I'm so excited to see them land. I wish I see it in person.

Love Crystal

Date 4/10/26

Today was the best day.  Grammy and I sat on the couch and watched the capsule splash down.  Grammy held me tight as we watched the astronauts get rescued.  The man on the news said it was traveling about 25,000 miles and hours.  Daddy laughed and said everyone thinks he drives fast.

Before Grammy left to go home I asked her what ever happened to that stupid boy in her class.  You know what Grammy said.  She told me she married him.  He's my Grandpa.

Love, Crystal

It's Raining Cats And Dogs

Day 18 

It’s Raining Cats And Dogs

"Mommy, Mommy, it's raining cats and dogs," Little Sammy cried running from the living room window to the kitchen where Mommy was making breakfast.

Mommy followed Little Sammy to the living room window expecting to see it pouring outside only to see little cats and dogs coming down from the sky, hitting the ground and taking off running unharmed.

"I want to go outside so I can get a new kitty or puppy," Sammy said, not waiting for an answer, just grabbing a pail and heading out the back door.

A few minutes later Sammy returned with an orange kitten under one arm and a little puppy under the other  showing them to Mommy.

When Daddy got home from work he saw a driveway full of cats and dogs and puppies and wondered where they came from.

"Daddy, it was raining cats and dogs so I went out and got some," Sammy said, trying to round up all the pets she brought in.