The Scene:
9 a.m., mostly sunny day. The double stroller is packed to the gills with everything needed for a one hour-long jaunt to the park and picnic (i.e. blankets, diapers, lunch, snacks, water bottles, inflated ball, hats, sunscreen, wipes, more snacks, lovies, back-up lovies, solitary sandal (…?), mostly deflated other ball)
Susannah sees a grassy median covered with hundreds of dandelions. Hundreds.
Susannah: Mom, can we stop and get one for my vase? I’ll put it on my bedside table.
Keely (already holding the stroller, the bag, the food that fell from the stroller, and one of Jasper’s shoes): Can we get it on the way back? It’ll stay fresher for your vase.
Susannah: How do you know they’ll still be here?
Keely: What?
Susannah: HOW DO YOU KNOW THE FLOWERS WILL STILL BE HERE?
Keely: Uh-
Susannah: What if someone comes and picks every single one of them?!
Keely thinks to herself about a) how impressive a scenario that would be, and b) wonders if she could pay someone to remove hundreds of dandelions in her yard for that short amount of time.
Susannah: MOM.
Keely: No, sweets, there’s no way someone could come and pick every single one of the dandelions by the time we come back.
Susannah: Whatever you say…
Susannah (whispers to Jasper): I hope she knows what she’s talking about.
Jasper: ‘K.
Keely has a horrible, terrible moment of anxiety wherein she stresses about the possibility of every single dandelion being picked within the next hour, because- at its core- Susannah is correct. KEELY HAS NO IDEA WHAT SHE’S TALKING ABOUT.
Keely spends the next five minutes of the walk strategizing dandelion security.
Keely spends the next five minutes after that wanting to slap herself for the incredible insignificance of every single thing that has happened since they left the house a mere ten minutes prior.
(Me too, kid. Me too.)
45 minutes later, Keely kicks herself for not picking the dandelion- it’s a fricking dandelion- and acknowledges that in like, 2 seconds, Susannah will be too old for strolls and questions and mid-morning picnics and certainly dandelions.
Keely cries inwardly for a minute and a half.
Upon their return, Susannah sees the dandelions and decides she doesn’t really want one after all.
Keely enters the house and locks herself in the bathroom for ten seconds.
End of scene.
Speak Your Mind