Chalk, Band-Aids, Whirligigs & Weeds...

A Few Observations As I Sit In My Well-Worn Lawn Chair On A Windy Afternoon
1. Maple trees produce a massive amount of helicopter leaves, whirligigs, spinny things. I believe the proper terminology is Samara. The wind blows and the whirligigs spin off the tree and soar in circles to the ground below. The Pea has a broom and sweeps the helicopters into mountainous piles. The Bug, using every inch of both arms, lifts each whirligig pile up and into a cardboard box. (The box is clearly labeled in chalk with a picture of the samara on the side.) The Pea takes a moment to break open the whirligig and show me the seed encased in the papery-web-y wing. The entire driveway is hidden by whirligigs. And every moment new whirligigs come in for a landing. I can’t help but smile.
2. I might as well keep a jar of Band-aids in the garage. Someone is going to get scratched up. Probably a knee, or a finger or a toe or some bendy funky spot where it’s hard for one Band-aid to cover so you end up using a whole mound of Band-aids and then your roller skate won’t fit back on so you have to go barefoot into the backyard where you’ve dug in the garden and you step on a piece of mulch and get a splinter and then “Mooooooooom!” and we begin again.
3. Once you’ve worn the sidewalk chalk down to tiny bits, it’s fun to construct a type of liquid-y pigment. (Paint would be a term I’d use loosely to describe the creation.) Stomp the bits into tinier pieces, collect them in a Frisbee (turned upside down), add liquid (either from a hose or leftover from a juice box) and stir with muddy fingers. Traipse inside to get paint brushes out of the art supply cabinet, traipse back outside and begin your masterpiece on the canvas of your choice (preferably not your sister.)
4. Dandelions are beautiful, even if they are weeds. The Bug and the Pea don’t understand why I would want the dandelions to go away. I have to spray the weeds while the children are away, the kids would question whether I was making a “good choice.” In their eyes, our yard is a field of bright yellow life, sprinkled with fluffy white “wish flowers.” The Bug and the Pea gather bouquets. The Bug runs inside to grab a few plastic tumblers, she runs back outside and turns on the hose to fill the “vases” with a bit of water for the flowers. The flowers that now adorn our kitchen table. You could get lost in the billowy white of a dandelion. They’re quite ethereal. “Make a wish Mommy!” giggles the Pea as she blows a zillion new dandelion seeds into the air. I wish this afternoon would last forever.