Abby, my three year-old grandbaby was visiting last week. We are busy playing outside and enjoying a glorious sunny day…feeding the ducks, throwing a ball, taking a walk, practicing to be hula hoop performers ( you’ll see us in the upcoming months in a hula hoop competition!) and watering Mamaw’s flowers.
I bent down in the grass to pick up the hula hoops, when I felt a gentle tug on my arm…I turned and there was Abby with a small yellow dandelion in her hand. Her face lit up as bright as the sunshine and she bent over, kissed me on the cheek and said, “I love you Mamaw! I picked this for you… Isn’t it pretty?!” “I smiled and tears began flowing down my cheeks… I said, “Thank you! I love it, it is just beautiful!”
Abby then asked if we could take the dandelion in the house and put it in water so it would stay pretty. We did just that! Several times during the afternoon and even into early evening, and many times the next day, Abby had to take a peek at her present, the dandelion, to make sure it was ok.
Wow! The emotions and feelings that flew around in those precious moments were incredible…
My mind re-winded to my childhood, when I recalled the moment I first gave my Mom her first dandelion. Do you remember doing that and how excited you were? Do you recall your Mom’s reaction?
And then, of course, I pictured the first time my son, Matt, handed me my first dandelion. I felt the emotions of receiving the most pure, precious gift…a loving gift right from the heart, just as strongly as I did so many years ago!
Yet, isn’t it ironic? This gift of a dandelion? That same dandelion we try hard to eradicate from our lush, green lawns, turns out to be one of our most cherished memories!
Ah…Life is filled with little moments…
In our busy, frenzy filled world we live in, it is easy to miss those moments…how about you, are you present, are you open, do you see them, do you honor them?
