A little girl's innocence changed her mother's vision of a beautiful yard. |
Fine and Dandy Written by; lovingly ( Rebecca S. Smith ) 12/13/2010 Monday It was time, for me to win for a change ( I enjoy conning myself.) So, with a hearty grunt, I heaved the 25-pound bag of weed killer out of the trunk of my car. I believed the ads ( don't we all, when we want to?) that within weeks. I'd be free of those pesky stubborn dandelions. I'd be able to look with renewed pride at a lush totally green lawn. No matter how many times I had mowed them over in the past, giving them the guillotine treatment, those tenacious dandelions would always come back...and often bring their cousins along. Not this season, I told myself. The gloves were coming off and the chemicals were going on. This time I would be the victor in my long battle with that infernal weed. But the game was rigged, I forgot to factor in the human element...the one inside the heart and brain of my 3 year old daugther, Victoria. A Why Baby... She was in what I call it the WHY stage.She'd be curious about something, anything from '' WHY'' are you peeling potatoes?'' to '' Why are you shaving your legs?'' The questions would come fast, furious and relentlessly from all angles, making my head reel. What she did with all the answers, I don't know. She was going to be either a rocket scientist or a CIA agent. But there she was that day, standing next to me with a puzzled look on her tiny face...the brow creased, head tilted, eyebrows raised and lips ready to part. '' What's that, Mom?'' '' It's just stuff for the lawn, honey.'' '' What kind of stuff?'' '' It kills weeds and makes the lawn look nicer.'' I was dead in the water. There was instant realization that I never should have used the ''K '' word. '' Isn't killing bad, Mom?'' You told me it was bad. What's a weed, anyway?'' She hit me with both barrels. The first question I avoided, praying her inquisitive mind would let it go, and confidently moved on to question two. '' Well, weeds are plants that grow in places you don't want them to, like having uninvited quest.'' That got me a blank stare, so, I started again. '' This is lovingly dedicated to my one and only lovely daughter, '' VICTORIA.'' |