dandelions

as we drive down the road, tali and zach will exclaim "look at all those dandelions!!!!"... and i will with great excitement note the dozens, or hundreds, or two, dandelions they've spotted. not fake excitement, great excitement. dandelions are, in my opinion, as pretty as any other flower on the market. little puffs of yellow sunshine dotting the deep green spring grass. they mean that winter is finally over, and the promise of summer is just around the corner.

i realize that most people do not share my view on dandelions. one only has to peruse the gardening aisle to reveal the level of dandelion hatred that is rampant in this country. sprays, powders, and concentrates specifically developed to rid your beautifully manicured yard of these nuisance weeds. jim will look longingly at these items, as i remind him that i love dandelions and there's no reason to kill them. after all, if he kills them... how will tali and zach get to experience the very real joy specific to "blow flowers"? seriously...! he rolls his eyes and determines this is not a battle worth fighting. i have no such control over lee. just the other day i pulled up at mom's house to see lee meticulously going through his back yard with a spade, digging each and every dandelion out of the ground. my heart sank. no convincing him that they're pretty. the world's already got to him

just a couple of days ago, the kids presented me with this bowl of "flowers". little puffs of sunshine. i remember picking bouquets of dandelions for my own mom. she'd proudly put them in a vase [or cup] of water and place them on the dining room table. sure, dad tried to explain to me that they were really weeds [it's a man thing] but i would not be convinced. tali and zach share in this simple joy now, and a kid at heart, i still get excited when i see the dots of yellow popping up over the spring landscape. and like my own mom, i love my dandelion bouquets.


and i think their daddy does too. after all... that's one bowl of dandelions that are no longer in our yard!