Your Dandelions are Numbered, Use with Care

When I left the house just before noon today, for lunch with hubby and maybe a trip to the library, on the way out I grabbed a button up shirt to throw on with my jeans and t shirt because it was a little chilly (to me).

After lunch Cowboy and I headed to the dollar store for a pair of floaties because one of his had sustained a blow out a few days before. Before I set for home, a moment of insanity struck me. I asked Cowboy, "Is there anything you want to do while we're in town?" As the words spontaneously tumbled from my mouth I was struck with a sense of half horror, half surprise. What was I thinking? Am I crazy? Trying to keep pace with Cowboy is like trying to catch a race horse on foot! But it was already out there. I done said it. "The park, the park!" he said. Off we go, to the park.

I'm determined to have a good time with my boy, but as we drove to the park, the clouds had given way to a blazing hot 1:00 sun, and all I'm thinking is .... "the library has air conditioning." We pulled into the parking lot and both of us realized the same thing at the same time ...... it was deserted. Not a single car or person in sight. I couldn't help but to think it was because sane people don't come to the park after a heavy lunch in the heat of the day, ha. But Cowboy's cricket imitation (it was so quiet all we could hear were crickets) jostled me out of my negativity and made me laugh.

With no other children to play with, well ....... what is a Mama to do? We started out on the swings and our toes touched the tops of the trees time and again, as we played 'I Spy With My Little Eye.' On the kiddy merry go round with the horses, we raced as fast as we could in the Kentucky Derby, winning by a nose .... while the big kid merry go round swept us into outer space where we conquered evil aliens! A trip to the water fountain proved to be fatal as it produced poison that sparked a dramatic and horrible fit of spasms and sadly, finally .... mock death. So tragic!

Having quickly and miraculously recovered from the treacherous waters, we played butt bumpers on the see-saw, drove the school bus through a war zone, where I was ultimately blown to bits, and ended up sitting on the play tractor for a breather. As I sat there, I remembered how this very tractor used to be Cowboy's most favorite thing in the park. I remembered our first trip to this park, he could barely walk. He wasn't big enough to reach anything, or for the swings, to climb on the jungle gym, or go down the slide all alone. It seems like yesterday. I was shaken from my bittersweet memories when Cowboy tumbled off the top of the tractor. As I rushed to see if he was ok, I'm asking, "Where does it hurt, what got hit?" He's hopping around, and in a laugh/cry he's trying to say something ......... "Just ... just ..... AVENGE ME!" Hahahaha! He's so good natured :)

By now the sun is really hot, at least in jeans, boots, and 2 shirts. I'm shucking off my long sleeve, and I'm about ready to head home when Cowboy says, "Hey, lets walk around the track!" Seriously?! The track is a mile long! (I think) "OK! let's go!" I said. Off we go.

As we passed under the overpass, for the first time ever, I let him climb the slope high enough so he could touch the underneath of the road. He was thrilled! We stopped at the Outdoor Classroom, read the signs about all the plants, looked at the goldfish and cooled off for a bit. Our trip didn't just take us around the track along the river, we also explored every baseball field, played imaginary baseball, laughed, talked, and shared about anything and everything. We did our part in repopulating dandelion seeds by making lots and lots of wishes blown to the wind.

On the home stretch of the track, Cowboy asked me what I had wished for. I said, I wished that we would always have fun together and that you're never too far away. He stopped, picked a dandelion and a few flowers, handed me the dandelion and said, "You have to wish again." I asked him why? He said, "Because you don't have to wish for that wish, it's already true." Aaaahhhhh! What a little sweetie! That would melt any Mama's heart! After I made my other wish, he handed me the flowers he picked and said, "That's for being the bestest Mommy ever!" We stopped back by the Outdoor Classroom where Cowboy tossed his shoes aside, soaked his feet in the pond and tried to get the goldfish to nibble on his toes ....  while I sagged on the bench, praying for enough strength to make it back to the truck.

As we walked back towards the park, I'll be honest, I felt a little guilty that I had started out on this adventure with a negative attitude. We had had such a great time together, doing nothing, but doing everything. I can see the truck in view now and just as I'm about to let my mind wander back to the real world of adult issues, Cowboy says, "Oh Mama, let's go play at the park again, ok? Just for a few minutes?"

Well ........ what would you have done?