Poppies, the Sensitive Soul, and the Wizard of Oz

Today's Wonder of the World is poppies!

They're finally blooming in the garden on our old coffee table.

And right in time for Memorial Day.
Perfect for a remembrance flower.












They make nice hair bows for Tanner the Slobber Dog, if he'd only let me bobby pin them on.

Nope, he's too busy wondering how they'd feel in his mouth.

That is, until the tomatoes are ripe.
Remember that? I'd rather not.

"Who, me? I was just seeing how they felt on my whiskers."













I was looking at them yesterday, noticing how crinkly they are, like crepe paper.

And so delicate, almost translucent.

Better enjoy them now, because they fade so quickly.

They remind me of two friends I've had the pleasure/blessing/gift of being close to.
Intense.
Vibrant.
Brilliantly beautiful.

So sensitive, though you might not know it.
They were different and found life more difficult than we realized.
I miss them.

I guess the poppy is a remembrance flower for good reason!







Do you have poppies around you? It's good to be reminded to keep an eye on them, to try to make sure they get the care they need.
Being sensitive makes life beautiful, but it also makes life hard.

Anyway, let's move on. :)

My strongest memory of poppies is seeing them out my train window when I was nineteen. My dad had a business trip overseas and the whole family went along. I was so sleepy as I looked out at the poppy fields, not realizing I had a full blown case of tonsillitis. They were in bloom everywhere, and I was so tired...

It was just like the Wizard of Oz!

Kind of. Minus the tinman and the cowardly lion and the scarecrow and the dog.
Add in a family of four from Raleigh, North Carolina-- and LOTS of gelato.

Have a great weekend, y'all!
Becky

Life's So Ruff When You're a Dog

Things at our house have been crazy this week.
Sarah moved off to her new town, to a new apartment, to a new school, to a new life-- and felt like she had to take all her worldly possessions with her. My arms are killing me and I didn't even load that much in the van.
And tonight Ben and Todd drive to Charlotte so that he can catch his plane way too early tomorrow morning to Togo, Africa where he'll spend most of the summer.
So for the last week we've been running all over, packing moving boxes and buying apartment supplies and bug repellant and Gatorade powder and trying our best to fulfill our duties as staff /support to our excited children. 
As you can see, it's exhausted Tanner the Slobber Dog.

Not even the camera flash would wake that doggie up.

Okay, well the second flash did.

But no worries, he's back asleep again.
I think I want to be a dog. That is, if I could periodically yank my puppies back to the house by the scruff of their necks.
But dogs have to go off and run their own lives, I guess.

Peace and plenty of pats on the head to you, friends! :)
Becky