fistful of flowers

We were holding hands as we left the doors of Henry's preschool (I take full opportunity to hold his hand when he lets me because I know someday he will be too big, too old, too cool, too something to hold my hand). Henry lets go of my hand and runs into the grass to pull flowers before climbing into the van. What mother doesn't know the feeling that a fistful of dandelions will do to a heart?

As we pull into the garage, Wyatt starts kicking in his car seat, screaming "Be done, Be done!". Wyatt proceeds, with an obvious agenda on his mind, to climb out of the car as quickly as his two-year-old legs will allow him, run to the front lawn and pull his own bouquet of yellow flowers .

I tell Henry that I have the perfect little vase to put their flowers in. Henry fill the glass vase with water from the bathroom sink and shoves his little yellow treasures into the glass. I tell Wyatt to add his.

I should have know better.

This brings on a full screaming tantrum of needing "Wu-Wu's water!". "Mine, Mine!".

My solution is to go into the cupboard, hand him a little, red, plastic sippy cup to put his flowers into. He proceeds to ask politely scream at me to add water. I do so and he happily walks away, two hands on his cup full of flowers, proud to be like his older brother.

A few minutes later, Henry runs up to me. "Wu is drinking the water from the flowers!" being the lazy wise mother that I am, I tell Henry that I'm sure he'll only drink a little bit.

Satisfied, Henry walks away from the kitchen. Wyatt walks in. He has his dandelions smashed into the bottom of the cup and I should have known better, the water, completely gone. He had drank all of his 'dandelion juice'.

I take away his cup with dandelion remains of yellow petals and milky stems, that motherly feeling of a fistful of flowers doesn't quite settle into my heart, but more into the bottom of my stomach.

To his credit, his 'vase' was a little, red, plastic sippy cup. He's no idiot, he knows what a sippy cup is really used for, but me, I completely should have known better.

My giveaway for got milk? stuff is going on until Monday.