Flowers and Such

  It rained for a good part of the day yesterday.  It was cold too.  I didn't check weather.com so that long rain storm took me a little by surprise.  I was more pleasantly surprised to see that by the time I was picking Georgia up from school it had cleared up nicely and the sun was well out and warming things up.

  When we got home from school Georgia was excited to see how the puddles had accumulated in our drive way.  She couldn't wait to go out and splash around.  It had warmed up enough for her to put on shorts and flip flops.  As she dressed for play she went on and on about how she loved splashing in puddles and asked if I like to do that same thing when I was little...I said what kid doesn't like to do that?! :)   I saw Georgia playing with one of the Corgis and Holly all around the huge puddles.  After 20 minutes or so she tip-toed in to tell me how excited she was to see that the little yellow flowers all around the big trees in the front yard were starting to bloom!  I was glad to hear that too!  Since our time here is spent in the winter months, we don't get to see much green or the colors our flowers have to offer.  It rains often while we are home and we get a few ice storms and snowy weather too.  So when the flowers start to come out, Georgia & I know spring will be here before we know it! 

  We love the spring...it is by far my favorite time of year.  The grass and trees start to turn green again and the air seems clean.  By the time spring is in full-force we are on the road.  One of the things I love to do most while we are driving in the mornings is to look at the beautiful flowers in the yards of the residential areas.  The best is when I hear someone mowing their lawn and smell fresh cut grass.  (That smell immediately takes me back to the 1970's and being at my grandparents' house...I can see my grandfather mowing the back yard and smell the grass...all like it was yesterday.)  I always love to take in the colors and purposely drive a little slow so I can take in the sights of some of the perfectly manicured lawns and pristine flower beds.  I have to admit that I do look with a little envy in my heart.  (I wonder if the people who tend to those lawns and flowers know how lucky they are to be able to do that.)  I always thought that if I got off the road, I'd have the greenest most perfectly cut grass and the biggest, brightest flowers in all of Paris, Texas.  I love being outside.  Hopping on the riding mower is one of my favorite things in the world.  My dad used to say that he could "solve the world's problems" while he was doing the dishes.  That's what I do when I am cutting the grass.  While I admit, I am not the best gardener, in my feeble defense, I not home long enough to tend to a full-fledged garden.  Well, Georgia and I love flowers and we've bought our share of pots, soil, plants and packets of seeds.  We are not exactly the most green-thumbed family, but we give it the old college try (Chandlerism).  Sometimes the flowers grow, sometimes they don't.  Sometimes we leave our potted plants at the last lot and by the time we remember them, it's too late to go back to the last town to get them...so, we start all over again. 

  If it's one thing I am glad I've passed on to Georgia, it's a love for flowers, and a general love for the outdoors.  We see a lot of Cardinals and blue birds at home and every time we spot one, we have to tell each other.  One of our most favorite things to do together is to go on what Georgia calls "nature walks."  Sometimes it's through the back area of a fairgrounds, the wooded area behind a school where we've set up or a residential area.  No matter where we walk, the important thing is that we are together, having fun and enjoying our surroundings.  Georgia and I have a passion for picking wild flowers.  As we gather them up, we'll put them in the bottom of the jogging stroller, trying real hard to keep them out of Toot's reach.  Then we take them back to the trailer and make an arrangement for the dining room table.  Since I always forget that I don't have an actual factual vase, they usually wind up in Georgia's big orange sports cup, it's the biggest cup we own.  But we don't care, we're not looking at the cup, we're looking at the flowers.

-- God, please guide my hand as I write on the slate of who my children are.