Dandelion Analogies

A stubborn little weed that insists on shoving its impudent head through sidewalk crevices, hopping over flower garden barricades and taking over well kept lawns, a dandelion is a generally disliked nuisance of the summer months.  That said, as spring has finally sprung I've decided I like them.  They tend to tell a story about the people who  own the landscapes  they invade.  

Let me explain... 

Of course most people claim to hate dandelions, but most don't really seem to do much other than half heartedly douse them with RoundUp a couple of times a season.  Others though, they wage a full out war on the fuzzy flowers.  These people are the ones with the perfectly manicured lawns where every blade of grass is uniform and there are no "extra" hideaways taking up residence.  There are still others whose lawns could probably be more easily referred to as "dandelion patches," which are very similar to watermelon patches.....except no watermelons, just dandelions.  

The stories I was reading on people's front lawns went a little like this: dandelions will appear without fail every spring, that's just how it is.  Their yellow,  fuzzy, impudent blossoms fill children's arms and make bouquets for mom's with allergies every year.  None of this will change no matter which of the above three categories someone falls into.  I guess I was struck by how much time society puts into making a perfectly manicured lawn.  Now don't get me wrong, rolling green lawns do look pretty!  However, I decided I LIKED the little orangey yellow flowers because the houses that had them covering their lawns probably had people inside who decided there was something more important in their lives than winning the "best looking lawn" contest on their block.  They decided time spent with people was more important than time spent trying to determine how they would be perceived by said people.  (All of this makes sense in my head....maybe just not so much in writing).  If we spend all our time working out how we are going to "look" and be "perceived" but don't GO and actually spend time with the people being real, we are wasting one of our most precious resources--time. 

I hope my yard is full of dandelions someday.   :)