Flower Children

Several weeks ago, in an effort to spend more quality time together, I planted sunflower seeds with the boys. I like my garden to have neat tidy rows, but with the boys helping me I had to relax a little. They dug the trench , while trampling my strawberry plants and scattered in the sunflower seeds. Scatter isn't really the right word. Gavin gently placed, Tommy flicked and Finn mashed the seeds into the soil. After covering our trench with more soil, I picked up all the extra seeds that were thrown all over the garden. We probably planted 20 or 30 seeds in a trench that was only three feet long. The spacing on the package suggested 12 inches apart. I pointed out to Gavin that there is a difference between a suggestion and an order. A week later the sunflowers had actually popped up. I know this is the usual process, but it is always such a pleasant surprise when it actually happens. We have been really busy over the last week, so I haven't monitored their progress very much. I glanced out the window this morning and was pleased to see some smiling yellow sun flower faces. I threw on one blue and one khaki colored crock and went out for a closer look. I was surprised to see that the sunflowers were all different heights. We planted them all at the same time all of them were the same type. As I was examining them, I noticed there were six. That's funny, one for each family member I thought. But as I looked closer I noticed they really symbolized our family, there were two really tall ones for Scott and I, and then four others descending in height. This was really neat. I started to analyze them more closely. Scott's had bloomed already while mine hadn't. Maybe that was supposed to mean he was where he wanted to be in his life career, spiritually, health etc... and I still had some growing to do (finish nursing school among other things). Yes, this was all making perfect sense. I examined Gavin's flower, it was straight and thinner than the rest (Gavin always "walks the straight and narrow"). Petey's flower must have pushed out of the earth just days ago. It was still so small and fragile. This is really incredible, I thought. Then I got to Tommy's flower, it was beautiful from behind. But as I turned the face to look at me, I was horrified to find two big beetles eating all the yellow fluff out of the middle. I was all distraught trying to interpret what this could possibly mean for his future when I realized I had taken my Sunflower Reading way too far. So I back tracked a bit. I smiled as I remembered us on planting day, like bulls in a china shop the little boys trampled through the garden pulling up my marker stakes, cracking off a cabbage head and leaning into the cucumber fence until it tipped over. It was just one more family memory I like to think they will cherish forever. Planting day was wild but the end result was beautiful and pretty ironic that we ended up with a perfect sunflower family.