Dandelion Wishes

May 2, 2013

written by Cathy Baker, mom of two sweet tweens, who blew dandelion wishes with me the other night

I know dandelions are considered a weed. And to be quite honest, my yard is NOT dandelion free, and when we walk the neighborhood, there are certain yards that I am definitely green with envy over (ha!) by their plush lawn and lack of dandelions!

source: make it a wonderful life blog

But when my kids were little, my husband once said, “If we didn’t have dandelions, then the girls wouldn’t be able to bring us dandelion bouquets.” And while yes, he was just trying to get out of doing something about the dandelions in our yard, I’ve thought about that several times over the years. How this weed, has added joy to my life.

I still remember chubby hands bringing me dandelions that didn’t even have stems long enough to hold.
I still remember dandelion bouquets sitting in tiny vases in my kitchen window.
I still remember blowing countless dandelion wishes with my girls. And, ummm, yes, encouraging the spread of said dandelions in doing so!
I remember being served ‘dandelion soup’ in our backyard during playtime.

And you know what I regret? That I didn’t take a picture of any of these things. Because if I did, I think I might just frame them. A moment of my life captured in time. For now, I hold them in my heart.

photo source: unknown

But this last week, when I was mowing our back field and it was raining dandelion fluff down all over me, I remembered this idea I had seen somewhere. So I came in and asked the girls if they wanted to help me fill a jar with dandelion wishes. And (yeah!) they did!

So as the sun was setting, we filled this jar with dandelion wishes. Then, when we were done, we all blew dandelion wishes once again into the wind. I wished for more days like this.

This jar now sits on my end table. A reminder to me of sweeter days gone by. And it makes me smile every time I walk by it. I really hope these wishes stay ‘preserved’ in this jar for the rest of my life.

If you want one more dandelion story, check out this story of the lady who hung 2,000 dandelion wishes from her ceiling!

Oh, and speaking of wishes,what do you wish for today?

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Category: Outdoor, Random and Fun
Tags: memories, outdoor play |

7 Comments »

Marykate
on May 2, 2013 7:44 pm
This so beautful and movng. Thank you, thank you. I love this idea and love dandelons too. Every time I see fluff float by say to the kids “look there is someone’s wsh”! And wishes are kind of like prayers and we are never too old to make them and believe in them. I make wishes with the kids on practically everything we can! Crossing railroad tracks, the first night star, birthday candles and yes sweet dandelions. My wish – to slow time and savor the moment more. They grow much too fast. Thanks for the reminder!
Anne Schenendorf
on May 4, 2013 6:39 pm
This mushed my heart. In recent days I have been brought dadelion bouquets by two year old boys. There will never be any other flower as beautiful to me. There is something in the sentiment of a chuld bringing you flowers. It is a gift. Organizing during teaching I used to find flattened flowers/weeds my childrwn eould bring me. Even then, without babies of my own, these felt so precious and I never had the heart to discard. This past week being given the dandelions, I had a sense that this was fleeting. This moment is a gift. Remember those little looks from little cherubs. You will never be here again. Reading this I realize, it’s true. It goes much too quickly…
Cathy
on May 6, 2013 11:33 am
Marykate & Anne – I’m so glad you enjoyed this article! Precious moments for sure!
Mel
on May 6, 2013 11:39 am
Ok, I might be a slight puddle right now… 😉

Lately I’ve just been so aware of the fact that my girl is growing up too fast…the dandelion-picking days will be gone before I know it. I’ve taken a few pictures…but thanks for the reminder to keep capturing those moments. Yes, they’re in my heart, but it’s nice to have them on camera, too. 🙂 Love the jar idea, too…we’re going to copy it. 🙂
Cathy
on May 6, 2013 11:48 am
Oh Mel, I loved reading your blog this morning about Mae picking dandelions! 🙂
Anne Schenendorf
on May 7, 2013 6:44 am
I did love it! Thank you!!!! Now if you can just teach me to freeze time…
Barb
on April 11, 2016 10:55 am
Good morning to you.
In light of my desire lately to preserve dandelions, I came across your blog post here.
Love the idea of having them in a jar….(I just painted some and put wire in the stems to try to preserve them in a bouquet for awhile).
Question: it is not 2 years since you wrote this, wondering if they are still holding up in the jar? Or, over time, have they lost their little seeds and fallen to bottom of jar.

thanks for response.
BlessingsBarb