My kid sister used to pick tons of dandelions for my mom, who treated them like they were bouquets of roses put them in jelly jars and they'd be our dinner centerpieces.  I used to think my mom was NUTS....dandleions closed up so fast and were gross and ugly looking.  And I just KNEW they were weeds.

Fast Forward 25ish years.  I've got a daughter of my own.  She started picking dandelions last spring.  And she loves them.  As she looked up at me last year and handed them to me as an offering from the heart, I knew right then what love was, and why mom had fussed over those 'weeds' years before.  My kitchen's spring theme was dandelion. 

Now spring is upon us again.  And my more articulate daughter is so excited on our walks to the creek where the ducks are.  "Dandelions mommy!" she points.  "Oh they are so lucky they have so many pretty dandelions in their yard!"  I laugh.  "Is it really OK to pick these from other people's yards?" and while I appreciate her minding other people's property boundaries, knowing the value of dandelion is right above crabgrass, I tell her I'm pretty sure in this case it's ok.

Pre-children, her father and I were all about cultivating a lawn.  We spent hours and dollars being concerned about green lawn grass (not moss, or weeds, but real shade loving grass).  The remnants of that devotion are still able to be seen in the absence of dandelions in our yard.  Eve asks what is wrong with our yard for not having dandelions.  I kind of miss them myself actually.  But lo and behold, I hear a squeal from the other side of the playset yesterday. "EEEKK! Mommy!"  The rookie parent in me still reacts quickly to these outbursts, and as the adrenaline propels me to her side, she smiles at me and points "Look, there, we have grown some dandelions too!  Aren't they beautiful?"  And you know, they really kind of are.  Their bright yellow has broken the brown/grey of winter.  I ask her if we should pick them.  This is our big dilemma with EVERY one, do we pick it now, or let it get bigger?    She ponders this, as she does each time, letting me see her thought process wheels turning.  "Nah, let's keep them here so we see them when we play." 

And off she goes.  Right now there are jelly jars of dandelions on each windowsill of my kitchen.  They are curling up and getting yuck but I'll keep them one more day.  They remind me that my kidlets will be that sunny and open for as fleeting a time.   And today is another sunny day, another day for a walk, another day to receive another fistful of the child's rose, the dandelion.