Last night I was remembering growing up with a bar of Lava soap sitting by the side of the sink with the “regular soap.” Today one of my friends commented that she too had grown up with Lava soap–that “anything on a farm will come off with Lava soap.”
Sounds straight off one of those old commercials, doesn’t it? Awesome.
It made me think of the time when I most needed soap to get off something I was covered in that you’d find on a farm. All over.
When I was little, my Daddy and my Papa were raising cows together out at the farm. I loved being around them. Well, except for Billy Bull. He scared me. He seemed big, and I had it in my head that he was mean. I don’t even really know.
At some point, Daddy brought a calf or two over to our house for a little while and had them in a little pen out back. This was before we moved to Blackberry Flats. I was maybe around five, because I vaguely remember this. I went out back to visit with the calves. I just loved them. I sat on the side of the railing and watched them. I talked to them. Then, as luck would have it, I fell in. But good. I had fallen flat on my front. I was covered in what was on the ground. Ahem.
I climbed out and slowly made the trek back up the house. I called for Mama and she came out and saw me. Her version of the story is that I stood there in tears, covered from head to toe, and said, “Mama, I was talking to the calves and then I fell all in IT.”
She had to hold herself back to keep from cracking up. When she could speak again, she told me to stay put. She went inside and brought back out a roll of paper towels and a bar of soap and pointed me towards the water spigot on the side of the house.
I am sure she helped me at some point, but my memory is feeling all “poor pitiful me” and standing out there, all alone, covered in IT. I remember the white of the paper towels, so clean, something I was not. I remember wishing I had been more careful sitting on the side of the rail. The water running from the spigot. Getting the “ewwwww” off. But I don’t remember what kind of soap Mama handed me.
Not that it really matters.
I’m just thankful the Lava soap story had my friend remembering something that made me remember this story. Mama used to laugh and laugh as she told it. “…..and then she said, ‘I fell all in IT!'” And she’d almost fall over from laughing so hard. Mama’s really deep laughs were the ones that became almost inaudible and had tears running out of the corner of her eyes. That’s what she did when telling this story over the years.
Tonight I’m thankful for memories of Mama laughing. For sharing stories. For friends who share their stories too. Most of all, I’m thankful I had a childhood where one of the worst things that happened to me was I fell in IT. Something that seemed so awful at the time, but now in hindsight, I realize how good I really had it.
Love and a good bar of soap to all.
I Might Need A Nap 