“There’s something about that flower that just makes me smile.” I said to my son Alex as we walked past the pot of orange day lilies on our deck as we headed for the garden.
Alex nodded. “They’re pretty.” He agreed.
“They’re more than just pretty.” I argued as I opened the garden gate. “They represent the end of a school year for me!”
Alex laughed. “Happy start of your summer vacation.” He walked over to the strawberry plant. “Hey, you’ve got another berry ready to pick.”
“Don’t pick it yet.” I called over to him as I went to cut some fresh dill. I was planning on adding it in the potato salad we were going to have with dinner. “Remember the tiger lilies we had at the end of the driveway at our old house?”
“Sure I do.” Alex had moved over to the tomato plants. “There were hundreds of them right next to the big oak tree.”
“Well, when I was little I’d be standing at the end of our driveway waiting with my brothers and sisters for the bus to take us to school. I would watch that patch of tiger lilies as they first broke through the ground and formed buds. When they finally bloomed, I knew it meant that school was almost over.”
Alex looked over at me as I snipped some dill off the plant and put it in the small bowl I’d been holding. “You were never a big fan of school were you?”
“Nope.” I turned around and headed over to the tomato plants. “I hated school with an absolute passion.”
Alex laughed. “Those are some pretty strong words.” He was pointing to the small green tomatoes that were hanging from the vine.
“But very true.” I began checking the other plants to see if I could find any more tomatoes.
Alex shrugged his shoulders. “I wasn’t a big fan of school but I certainty didn’t hate it as much as you did.”
“I’m glad.”
“You know what’s really funny?” He went over to the sunflowers to see if they needed any water. “That you work in a school now.”
I laughed. “Don’t think the irony of that doesn’t strike me all the time.” I went to check the lavender plants. “But working with kids that don’t want to be there has become my new passion.” Pulling a few of the dried leaves off the plant I held them up to my nose and inhaled. “I love the smell of lavender.” I held out the leaves for Alex to smell. He inhaled and nodded his head. “Nice.” He said.
I opened the garden gate and headed back to the house with the little bowl filled with dill.
As we headed up the steps to the deck I stopped at the container of day lilies and cradled one of the flowers in my hand. “You my friend, were always a sign that there was light at the end of the tunnel for me!”
Alex laughed as he headed for the back door. “Clearly it’s still a sign for you!”
I had to laugh. “Hey, I might not hate school anymore, but it’s still nice to have the summer’s off!”
Slice of Life 