A stink'n dandelion!
Gardenguides.com defines a dandelion as: A perennial weed with a stout taproot. The leaves are invasive, growing outward pushing down the surrounding vegetation, such as lawn grass, killing them due to lack of sunlight. Or in other words- a great big giant pest!
To make matters worse Joe is pretty allergic to the leaves that sprout at the base of the mature dandelion plant and though I've never tested it I'm guessing Brandon would have the same allergy considering how sensitive his skin is to any irritant. Thus our dedication to the systematic eradication of any and all dandelions from our yard starting in early spring and continuing through early fall.
Note the lack of dandelions....
Before becoming a home owner I was pretty ambivalent about these yellow flowering weeds. Yellow is my favorite color so they were not much of an eye sore and we lived in a town house so I didn't have to worry about the negative effects of weeds but if someone said that they were going to obliterate a field of them I'd shrug and step aside. Let's just say if the war against dandelions was a World War -- I'd be Switzerland.
Then last year just before one of Brandon and Johnny's tee-ball games we got to the park early. It had been raining all week and that combined with warm weather had encouraged those pesky little flowers to bloom like crazy. The outfield was covered in a bright blanket of dandelion flowers.
an approximation of what the outfield looked like
Johnny and Brandon were mesmerized. The glow of the flowers called to them and they wanted to pick every single one and bring it to me. They would run out into the field and pick a couple and then hustle back to where I was sitting and toss them on my lap. It was a shower of flowers.
Brandon was beside himself with joy. He looked around in his excitement and cried, "Look at ALL these flowers for mommy!!" In that moment they might as well have been roses and every one created just for me.
I soon found that dandelions are perhaps my favorite flower in the whole world! It's not like I want a yard full of them but they are intriguing little plants. Not only are they yellow, cheerful and prolific they can also be an art project, an activity and a science lesson all wrapped into one. I never had to chastise the kids for picking too many or in the wrong way. They could yank them out of just about any patch of grass and be thanked for it. I could just let them explore and experiment to their hearts content. It was heavenly.
This spring when the dandelions bloomed I let my boys roam free. Walks that took minutes soon took hours as they picked and picked to their hearts content and my heart never felt so content as seeing them collect their special treasures. They would bring them to me by the handful- some as offerings of love, some to decorate my clothes and hair and others to make into dandelion necklaces and crowns. It didn't take long to understand that when picked with love and a little bit of imagination dandelions have a magical quality that can turn little boys into kings and princes and mommies into fairy queens.
One day, sooner than I realize, I know my boys will pull on their own yard shoes, make the trip to Home Depot and wage the war against dandelions in the yards of their own houses. I know one day they will see these flowers as weeds and not treasures. I know that one day they will buy me yellow roses, or lilies or carnations for mother's day and maybe even necklaces made of gold or silver, or pearls paid for with their hard earned money. But even if I live to be a hundred and one I know that I will never look at a dandelion again without feeling like a queen or without remembering that once three little boys thought that every single one was made just for me. I will never look at a dandelion without knowing that I am loved.
Happy Mother's Day 2011!
