Yesterday I spent the usual time playing Killer Bunnies with the girls. It is always a blast to sit down and play a vicious, kill or be killed game with my children! (Not even kidding, one of my greatest joys is to inflict Mad Bunny disease on my darling daughters' bunny colonies then sit back and enjoy the whine-fest that follows! AND they love to return the favor every chance they get!) Since it was raining, we couldn't really be outside but I knew that I wanted to go to J&J Nursery at some point because I desperately needed some colorful flowers to remind me that summer is around the bend. So when we saw a break in the storm we knew it was time to dash off with the ten thousand other people who had the same idea! Something about J&J's just makes me happy! The girls and I wandered around outside, looking at, smelling, and touching all the trees, flowers and plants that interested us and every now and then we also glanced up to see the ominous black clouds that I SWEAR were making "muahahahaha!" chortles instead of thunder! We went inside the greenhouses to find the perfect annuals for our containers (which I had to keep reminding myself was the entire reason we were there!), and we quickly got caught up in the excitement of acres and acres of brightly colored, blooming happiness! In the blink of an eye, my girls were three years old again as they rushed from one flower to the next, gushing about how each flower was more beautiful than the last and breathlessly asking, "OhmigoshcanwegetthistooMom?" Of course, my artist approached with a somewhat keener eye, as she thoughtfully contemplated which combination of colors would blend well in the same potted containers and she carefully selected only the best of each chosen species. I knew we were in trouble when Linz dashed off for another cart because the one we had was full, but by then the rain was furiously trying to get at us through the greenhouse roof, so we knew our only hope of survival was to wait out the storm in the humid warmth of the greenhouses, among the flowers and throngs of people who shared our Great Idea. By the time we finally headed through the ginormous parking lot puddles with our colorful bounty, I knew we had far more than we could plant in the one container that I had in mind at the beginning of our journey, but we had a great time nonetheless! Admittedly, I was a little worried about how I was going to explain the $186 purchase to Bill... I still am not sure how to justify that dollar amount on flowers.. I had some arguments prepared though, such as: "But honey, flowers make me happy.. and when I'M happy.. YOU'RE happy!" As I recall, when he did actually ask me how I paid for it, I quickly changed the subject but not before saying, "Oh come on, admit it.. you love them too!" To which I am certain I saw the corners of his mouth raise in a slight smile beneath those comically frowny brows of his. ;)
The weather gods were kind to us, giving us the remainder of the evening to play in the dirt as we crammed nearly all of those brightly colored flowers into three separate containers. We had such a great time! Now as I revisit the experience, I am reminded of a garden ornament my mom gave me years ago (which has since been demolished and thrown out) that read, "In search of my mother's garden, I found my own." I really loved that inscription because it was so true! Now I find myself sharing my love of gardening with my girls and I can only hope that one day they will pass it on to their own girls as well. Some family traditions are easily upheld.
No comments:
Post a Comment