Cheap Artificial Plants
My grandmother loved cheap artificial plants. I can still remember visiting her once a week. My parents used to take the drive every Sunday. She lived an hour away. My father use to always tell her that she should move in with us but she loved her independence. He then told her that she should at least get a house closer to them so that he could keep a better eye on her. She used to reply that the house was where she lived for the last fifty years, and where she raised him, and she wasn't leaving. He gave up trying to talk her out of it after a while.
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US $4.99
My grandmother's house was at the end of a dirt road, just outside of town. She had a small patch of land to go along with it. The place looked like the woods might creep in on it if she let it. And inside, she had all those cheap artificial plants that made it look country as well. The woman was quite a collector. It got so that I didn't know whether I was still outside or in! That was okay though. We all love what we love. And her tastes included cheap artificial plants. She had all kinds from palm trees to ivy bushes to dwarf maples.
She was a lovely woman. Always welcoming. Always with the gifts and baked cookies for us. What a grandmother should be. My brother and I used to look forward to seeing her each weekend. I remember playing hide and seek with him there and using some of the bigger cheap artificial plants as cover. He always found me eventually, but he was always better at it than I was. I only found him half the time. On one occasion, he had been pulling my hair all day long to annoy me, so when we started playing, I let him hide then just went off to do something else entirely. It was hours before he finally came out. I told him that he had lost when he did. He said it didn't count if I stopped looking. To this day, I think it absolutely does count. I think that it's your job to stay hidden. Whether I choose to constantly dig through the cheap artificial plants and eveything else in the place to find you or not, the moment you are found, you lose. My grandmother just laughed as I explained this to him.
I have such fond memories of going to her house. I wouldn't trade any of those visits for the world. And I would also give anything for one more of them. Her laugh was contagious. She used to bake the best cookies ever. And now I can't look at cheap artificial plants without thinking of her. That's why I love them so much too. Maybe one day, when I have children of my own and then grandchildren they will have similar sentiments about me.