Thursday, April 23, 2009

Mom's Favorite Flower

"Oh, Dandelions Are The Best!"

dandelion bouquet

Spring is coming on, and that got me thinking about dandelions and Mom.

Mom was very involved with the Drug Free Youth campaign. During her last three weeks battling lung cancer, however, Mom was in an incredible amount of pain and morphine became her friend.

A nurse gave her a hefty dose and was wheeling her away for another test. Mom said, "These days, morphine ranks right up there with mashed potatoes and dandelions."

Thinking she must be on a morphine high already, I said, "Mom, I get the mashed potatoes, but what's so great about dandelions?"

Mom said, "Oh, dandelions are the best! That's how you know you're loved, when your child brings you a handful of dandelions."

Mom never got many bouquets of roses in her lifetime, but she earned many bouquets of dandelions. When you get your first dandelion this spring, say a prayer for Mom, and most importantly, know that you are loved.

What is your favorite flower?

5 comments:

Shirley said...

There is nothing like the innocence of a child picking those bright yellow weeds for mom; after all they are often the first flowers of spring, and that makes them special, just like moms are special. My mom is back in the hospital, very weak now. I think I'll be making the 9 hour drive to be with her soon; maybe I'll take her some dandelions.

Therese said...

my favourite flowers are tulips. My children always seem to pick the flower without any stems so the petals usually die pretty quickly. I still love getting them though.

John Michael said...

Dear Shirley,

Our hearts go out to you and your mother. We will be sure to bring a bouquet of dandelions to Our Lady in her honor.

When I got home from work yesterday, the children had picked a giant bouquet of these beauties and put them in a drinking glass vase for my dear wife.

John Michael said...

Dear Therese,

We love tulips, too! Unfortunately, we only have about two groupings left in our landscaping.

You know, as a homeschooling mom, I bet you could come up with a really cool art project for them to do. Can you dry the petals and create something?

Therese said...

Actually John Micheal,

I was doing their lessons plans yesterday and one of our activities is painting leaves and putting the prints on paper.

I will also need to think about some petal art work.