Black Beans In My Guitar

It'll be my first big hit and will sound strangely similar to Taylor Swift's "Teardrops on my guitar" because I'm not creative enough to be a songwriter.....

Abby (the 3 year old I babysit a few times a week) loves to sing and she has a marvelous memory. She really likes when I start singing a song she doesn't know and keeps asking me to "sing it again!" Jacob really likes whenever I get my guitar out, especially if I let him play too, and so I thought it might be fun to bring it out and sing some of the old camp songs I haven't played since my summers on staff at SLCC (because college students and adults don't usually sing "If I were a butterfly" and other such fun little ditties). I told Abby my idea and asked if she would like that.

"And what can I play," she asked?

"Hmmm, that's a good question. How about I make you and Jacob and Mason little shakers?"

"Yeah!!!"

So I cut the wrapping paper tubes that I recently emptied and had been letting the kids play with, as spy glasses and megaphones and such, and re-purposed them once again as a music shaker with the help of some wax paper, rubber bands, and dried beans from the pantry. At first the kiddos thought this was great fun and there was much dancing and shaking around my living room as I sang and played for them. But then Mason started to explore his shaker and pulled off the rubber band that was holding the wax paper on the end of the tube to keep the beans inside. The beans poured out......and then he ate them, or actually chewed on them until I made him spit them out - that made him mad. I had just repaired the broken shaker when Abby shook hers too hard and the rubber band popped off and the beans all spilled out. I put my guitar down again and she helped me put the beans back in while Jacob pulled the guitar onto his lap and started plucking at the strings. Abby was concerned, but I told her she could play too when the beans were cleaned up as long as she was careful. Jacob was still holding his shaker in one hand while he strummed with the other, and I'm not sure how it happened because I was picking up beans, but somehow he dropped his shaker (also opened on one end) INSIDE my guitar. About that time Caleb decided he was done playing on the floor and ready for his milk and a nap - and I was certainly done with "Music Time". The guitar was set aside to be dealt with when there was less commotion.

3 days later I just finally got around to the twisting and flipping and shaking that was required to dump all the beans out of my guitar......and then Jacob dropped the pick in.....

I'm tired.