Dandelion

Monday morning I walked through the halls and outside building D with a gaggle of wide eyed, energetic 6 year olds trailing behind. We stopped just before the library doors as their shouts of excitement and joy caught my attention. They had spotted a group of dandelions in the grass. They begged for me to allow them to run over and pick the group of weeds. We had more important things to do and a schedule to follow. I said no. I didn't have time for anything extra today. Their dissapointment was obvious. We filed into the library with hands behind our backs and a bubble in our mouth. We rushed to check out our new text books and gathered together in another single file line to hurry to art, music and P.E. As we stepped onto the sidewalk they were so excited to see that the dandelions were still present. They begged me to pick the weeds. A girl shouted, "Please Miss Heath! It is your favorite flower! Don't you want to have it?!". She was right. I looked around to make sure no staff was looking as I walked quickly to the grass and picked a single dandelion. "YAYAY! ooo! It's so pretty!Can I see it!" They squealed with enjoyment. "I will hold onto it and we will take a look at it after Specials" I said. "Show me how 1st graders walk in line". They filed back into their (semi) quiet line as we trekked to Specials. One by one they placed their books in the book bin and tried to sneak a peak at the dandelion in my hand. I walked them to their teachers and said goodbye as I gripped the dandelion in a way that no one could see me carrying it. After all, I didn't want anyone to think my class walks around and picks flowers all day. That's not in the standards. I returned to class with their books and the flower. As I set the book bin down, I grabbed the flower and went to my desk. I stared in amazement as I held the dandelion up to the light. It looked so beautiful to me. Slightly annoyed at myself for almost ignoring the beauty of such a meaningful symbol in my life, I thanked God for placing that dandelion in our path on that day. He sees flowers in these weeds. As did my 1st grade class. I placed the flower in my vase and began prep work. After specials, our class returned to room 16 where they eagerly awaited the unveiling of the flower (6yr olds do not forget anything!). I showed them the dandelion and said, "This is a dandelion. Some people argue about whether it is a flower or a weed. To me it is a beautiful flower. You can decide what you believe it is." A girl shouted, "Make a wish, make a wish!" I explained to the group what she meant. They were pleased and all agreed that someone should wish on it. I walked around the room and let them all peer at the dandelion. One by one they agreed eagerly that it was in fact, a flower and not a weed. As I finished circling the room they shouted for me to make a wish. I contemplated whether I wanted to or not. I asked a boy whose birthday it was to come to the front of the class. I asked him if he would like to make a birthday wish on the dandelion. He grinned happily. Of course he did. As he blew away the seeds of the flower, every child sat up in amazement. "Woaaaaah!" They clapped for him. I smiled with satisfaction, as did they. We all agreed that this would be a special day.

A day later, the maintainance men mowed the lawn and chopped away all of our beautiful dandelions. We passed by the grass after lunch and discovered the tragedy. Our hearts sank.

As I reflect on this special day, I'm reminded that God places things, people, places, moments in our life that bring us joy. If we will only take the time to notice, stop, and enjoy them. I have been struggling with my new career but moments like that are irreplaceable. I am grateful that I am surrounded by little hearts and minds who notice beauty in even the simplest of weeds.