A Lofty Idea

Life can get a little boring at family gatherings, so 2 cousins decided to get creative. They brainstormed some different ideas, but the real “lightbulb” came at a family birthday party, when they looked outside, at their grandparent’s barn.
“We could make a teen hangout in the loft!” Shannon exclaimed. 
Kayla started “No…” then paused, musing the thought in her mind. “Hey, that is actually a good idea.” 
Her mind was bursting with ideas already. “We could clean it out, hang up pictures, string some lights… this could be amazing!” She jumped up to go get a piece of paper to write their ideas on, before they went outside to the barn to get more inspiration.

There was hay, old tires, wood planks, and even an old door up in the loft.
“We could use the old tires for chairs!”
“And the wood for shelves!”
“Gasp! What if we got a couch up here?”
On and on the cousins talked about ideas, figuring out what they would put up there, what theme they would have, how hard it would be to clean it out, and when they’d do it.
“We could do it at the family camp-out.” Shannon answered the question of when they’d do it. “That way we’ll have lots of time to do it, and we can do it all at once. Just remember to bring some clothes that you could get dirty, and we’ll be all fine.”
They climbed down the ladder and walked over to the fire pit, to where Grandma was.
“Hi girls.” She said with a smile. “Ready for rollkuchen*?”

“Yes.” The three cousins answered together.
“With Rogers’s syrup and watermelon?” Kayla asked.
“Of course.”
“That sounds great Grandma, but we have something to ask you.” Shannon spoke up, bringing the conversation to the cousin’s idea.
“Right. Forgot about that.” Kayla replied with a bashful grin. “So… Grandma, we want to clean out the loft, and use it as a hangout place.”
“That sounds like a great idea girls.” She replied. “You guys would have so much fun up there, but wouldn’t it take a lot of work?”
“Yes, it would. But we can do it.” Shannon piped up. “We’re not afraid of hard work.”
“Sure girls. Now who’s ready for rollkuchen?”

Over the next few weeks the girls all planned ideas of what they would do in the loft once it was cleaned out. They looked on Pinterest, magazines, and thrift shops. They texted back and forth, exchanging ideas.
One day, just a few days from the gathering, Kayla was taking a break from swimming in her pool, when she got a text from Grandma.
The loft is ready for the weekend! :)

“What does Grandma mean?” Kayla wondered, but didn’t have to wait long for her answer. The next text was a picture of the loft, all cleaned out!

Kayla stared at her screen. “Grandma cleaned out the loft for us? Wow, Grandma is awesome!” For you see, Grandma did not like going into the loft, because she was scared of mice.  “Grandma cleaned out the loft, faced her fears, so we wouldn’t have to clean out the loft on the weekend, just go straight to having fun in it.” Kayla said with a smile.
Thx Grandma! U R the BEST! <3

That weekend was a blast! After playing games with the Aunts and Uncles, and eating Grandma’s yummy food, the girls brought an air mattress, a ton of blankets, and Chinese lantern string lights up into the loft. They stayed up late into the night giggling and playing games like 3 Truths and a Lie, Who Knows Me Best, and more.
As their talking slowed down, their bodies shutting down for the night, Shannon snuggled deeper into the blankets. “This loft idea was the best.”
“Mmm.” Kayla nodded in agreement. “Even if it was yours.”
“Gatherings never gonna to be the same again.” Kayla smiled as she thought of future fun. “Sweet dreams.”
“Goodnight.”

* http://www.mennonitegirlscancook.ca/2008/06/rollkuchen.html
Rollkuchen are a very tasty Mennonite pastry that my Grandma makes all the time. This recipe that I found is a little different from Grandma’s, but for purposes of explaining to you what rollkuchen are it works just fine. :)  Rollkuchen is one of my favorite parts of our Mennonite heritage.