I have been waiting impatiently for Spring. And just last week a weird weather front dumped a few inches of snow on top of our budding plants, plants that for the following few days had to battle high winds, 20 degree temperatures, and several inches of rain. But today the sun peeked it's fickle head out so I pulled out the rain boots and went outside with Emma in tow (who was giddy at being outside after several days of that aforementioned rain.) As I walked around dreaming of what I will be planting mere weeks from now my sweet girl hands me a bucket and says "Here mommy, I picked this for you." And I peered into that bucket only to spot the heads of the few daffodils that made it through last week.
My first instinct was to get upset. But I stopped for a moment, and somehow the laughter bubbled up inside me instead, and I looked down at that smiling face, so proud of the gift she was giving me, and gave her a big kiss.
Now trust me, I am not one to always go for the laughter first, and it took a lot of willpower to not lecture her about why we don't pop the heads off of all the flowers in the garden (note to self: plant a LOT of flowers this spring) but I am glad I was able to take a moment and hold back those words and instead share in her joy.
And I plan on placing those tiny, stemless flowers, floating in a very shallow dish, next to my bed, a gentle reminder that I always have the choice between laughing or getting angry.