A Day in the Life of a Gourd

Yeah, my day has finally come! I just overheard Roger, one of the washers, talking and he said he is ready for me to become a jack-o-lantern. You see, I have been sitting in a bin in the dark for about 10 years, waiting patiently in the gourd crib until someone at Meadowbrooke came up with an idea to use me. Today is the day and I can’t wait!

Well, I hear the New Holland which means only one thing, Roger is coming for me. I am not sure what to expect since once my friends leave the gourd crib, they don’t come back for me to ask them questions, but I am looking forward to the adventure.

Well, here I go! Wow! That was awesome. I am so clean if I must say so myself. When I left the gourd crib, I was kind of moldy, had to peel skin all over me and must admit, didn’t smell the best. What do you expect after 10 years in a gourd crib? Roger brought me and a bunch of my friends to the washroom with the New Holland and put us all in a wash tank for a bath for about an hour. I spun around and around, went underwater, came back up and once in a while was hit with a pressure washer to help remove the grime. He also cut my top off and cleaned all my seeds and pulp out. Now, I am sitting in the drying room, much like a sauna, to dry out and get ready for tomorrow.

I can’t wait to start another day and another experience. I found out that before going to the crafting room, I get to meet Candace. She is going to be nice and sand the bottom of me so I sit straight and tall and put a new stem on me since I lost mine in the bath water yesterday. Ha-ha! The sanding tickled but now I don’t weeble, wobble all around and am able to sit on my own. I have heard Candace has a great smile . Well, it is time to go into the crafting room.

The crafting room is a bit scary because of the noise but everyone is very nice. I met Josh who makes most of the parts that go on us. Joe is coming to take me to his new work station. He is going to cut my eyes, a nose and mouth so now I will actually get to see who is helping me become beautiful. Joe was very gentle and I am now sitting on a cart waiting for the rest of my friends to get done. Our next step is to wait in the big room between crafting and finishing until Ken is ready to paint me.

I think I fell asleep while waiting but now I’m on the move again so time to wake up. Ken is dyeing me a beautiful shade of burnt orange but my lid is staying natural. I am sitting on a cardboard box waiting to dry. As I look around the room, I see Shawn and Kara working on some of my other friends by adding finishing touches to them. Ken has decided to spray a clear coat on me to help protect my pretty color and make me shine. Now, all I need is the pretty leaf Josh made for me and off to the store I go.

Well, I didn’t last long in the store considering all the work the production team put into me. Only a few days ago, I was sitting in the gourd crib waiting for my turn to come and now I have a home of my own. The people of the house are really, really nice and all their friends say how neat and unique I am. I feel so incredibly special. This experience is so much more than I could have ever imagined. Now every day, I get to shine for my new owners and make them smile! Life is GREAT!