Dandelions
Dandelions are our constant enemy in the back yard, you know, a nice suburban lawn is not supposed to have a bunch of weeds all over it. Last weekend my wife and I mowed and put down a layer of weed’n’feed in the hopes of never seeing one at our new place.
Yesterday my little girl told me it was a wonderful day. When I asked her why, she said, “Because we have our first dandelion at our new house!” Looking outside I saw that we did, indeed, and my daughter was thrilled to see it.
It triggers a bunch of questions, of course, like who determines beauty, what do people have against yellow, what makes one plant a “flower” and another a “weed” – but the biggest one for me is:
What would we do without children constantly renewing the world? How grey would everything be without their brand-new takes on things? With time everything becomes dismal and faded; there is always a negative to find.
We need youth; we need their perspective. It’s not just a reminder that beauty is relative – it’s a reminder that AGE is relative. “Everything old is new again.” The world still IS wonderful and beautiful and awe-inspiring, it’s just that sometimes, we need to share a fresh view in order to see it.
