Monday, April 8, 2013

Monday Memories 046::Fields of Gold

Second Daughter picking dandelions in our backyard, April 2012
 
 
I remember this moment so clearly.
I was in the backyard mowing the lawn.
I was frustrated by the overwhelming weeds, lack of sprinklers and real grass, and the never ending battle of trying to maintain our out of control yard.
I was huffing and puffing and complaining in my mind while pushing my mower through tall thick "grass," over weeds and dog poop that I was not willing to deal with properly.
I was out there doing something...anything...even though I knew whatever my efforts, I would not be getting the results I wanted that day. 
Our backyard - a source in my life that left me feel like no-matter-what-I-do-this-will-never-be-how-I-want-it.
Never a good feeling.
 
After mowing the straight line along the back fence of our yard and nearly filling up our lawn mower bag, I looked up and saw this -- Second Daughter sitting quietly by herself picking the beautiful dandelions that spotted our lawn.
I couldn't help but stop for a moment and appreciate that sweet moment.
 
My daughter - my sweet daughter - was not bothered by the laundry list of complaints I had stewing in my mind about our less than ideal backyard.  She was sitting amongst the weeds and overgrowth, enjoying the beauty of each small "flower" that she found - each one a treasure for her to collect and eventually award her mother (me) in a thoughtfully gathered golden bouquet.
 
It was a small moment that gave me great perspective.
It was a lesson from my sweet child to look for the good and to not be overcome by the bad or less than desirable.
 
Of course choosing to look positively at the dandelions didn't magically take away all the weeds and turn our backyard in to the lawn we dreamed it to be -- but it did make it a little easier to get back to work and a little easier to put a smile on my face instead of complain about what made me unhappy.  It was just a small piece in a big puzzle of a lesson I have been trying to learn.
 
I'm so thankful for little moments like this.
I am also so thankful (and excited) for all the work that is currently being done in our backyard.
We are excited to soon have the yard of our dreams to enjoy with our sweet kiddos and friends, but still thankful for memories like this one that give us perspective and keep us grateful for what we have.
 
We don't plan on having a backyard full of dandelions anymore, but luckily Second Daughter will still be able to hunt for them in our front yard -- at least for a couple more years :)
 
 
 
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Thanks for stopping by!