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Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Oh, So Lovely

Yellow, hearty, and oh, so lovely! A simple dandelion. The “flowers” grace my neighborhood. Children adore dandelions. More than once, a tiny glass vase filled with a miniature arrangement of dandelions has graced my kitchen table. A gift, of course, from my sweet girl. 

Even though our each member of my family spends countless hours each month lost in novels, we often select children’s books to read together. After all, a well-written children’s book always reveals valuable messages, along with fantastic illustrations. Just the other day we pulled a classic from our bookshelf.

Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) wrote Der er Forskjel and showed how children see beauty in dandelions.  A modest “weed” can be beautiful. 

The fairy-tale was originally written in Danish and was translated from the original Danish text by Marlee Alex in and published as There is a Difference in 1988.

Take a moment to examine a dandelion. Go ahead and pick it. No one will care! Even after dandelion flowers have dried up…there is still beauty to be found. Just look at the feathery and almost transparent arrangement of white seeds perfectly arranged in a sphere.

Hold the dandelion close to your mouth…gently blow…and make a wish.

Happy spring!