Life Lesson 15: Flower

The whole family stood admiring the new painting adorning Dani's bedroom wall.  The large painting showed a wide open field full of dandelions, Dani's namesake and favorite flower.

"I love it!" the girl exclaimed.  The enthusiastic eleven-year-old threw herself in her father's arms as a thank you for the painting he'd done just for her birthday.

It reminded Dani of the meadow, one of her favorite places in the world.  During the springtime it was always full of the small, yellow flowers.  Dani remembered her parents reminding her that she'd been named after the very dandelions in that meadow since she was little.  She'd always been able to tell dandelions were special to her parents, especially her mom, but she had never really understood why.  Whatever the reason, they'd named her Dandelion after them, and Dani had grown up having great respect for the flower that most people considered just a common weed.

When she was about five, Dani had noticed dandelions in their own yard as well.  She'd dug some up and placed them in with the primroses that were constantly growing in their garden.  Her mother had gently explained that dandelions were a bit more independent than primroses.  Their seeds rode through the wind and settled wherever they pleased.  They might not want to stay in the small little flower bed year after year.  It turned out her mother was right.  Every so often, a dandelion would grow in their garden, and there were also at least a few scattered across the yard.  Still, none of those small patches of dandelions compared to the dandelions that grew every spring in the meadow.  For some reason those had always been the "real" dandelions to Dani, and she could just tell that these were the dandelions her father had captured in the painting.  They just looked like meadow dandelions.  Something about the independence and their ability to grow where ever they pleased dispite their small delicate shape filled Dani with pride for her namesake.