Ah,Spring.  Bugs to catch…plants to torment…my kids are in heaven.

Toddlers latch onto odd things, sometimes.  Right now, my 3 year old totes around a hard plastic angry octopus named ‘Stretch” from Toy Story 3.  A few days before that, it was a rubbery fly that she pulled out of the dollar bin at Target. It’s somewhat cute, and little aggravating at times, when this happens.  All of the sudden, if they are parted with said object for more than a few milli-seconds, the world begins to crumble beneath their feet.  Let alone, if the precious object of the day can’t be found.  Oh, the tears that cascade quickly down the cheeks…

Oh, the temporary insanity that I experience in those moments…

What happens when the daily BFF is alive?  Mr. Ant, that doesn’t make it ’till dinnertime in his captured state…or Mommy Worm, that dried up on the sidewalk before it could rain again…or Mr. Caterpillar….you see where this is going, right?

It’s no different with plants.  My little sweetheart of a toddler totes these plants and flower buds inside, only to find them wilted by the next morning.  Well, winter comes and kids tend to forget how fragile plants and bugs can be.  The first picnic of springtime always ends the same way…with Brianne forgetting how harmless the gnats and flies are and screaming bloody murder to come back inside away from the bees that are undoubtedly out to ‘sting her bad.’

Brianne and Rose Bud

The first pet plant of the year is not all that different.  This year, she picked up a rose bud from a family friend at the local home and garden show.  She held that teeny tiny pink rose bud the entire time we were there…skipping up and down the rows of pretty landscape displays…talking to it…and herself…and whomever else was there that the rest of us weren’t privy to.  The imagination to keep occupied, and make up all sorts of adventures, from one tiny rose bud.

When it was time to leave, she threw a tantrum begging for a toy on the way out, and the rose bud’s fragile stem broke.  The horror and sadness that poured out from my child…you wouldn’t have thought her cat died…  Looking at the bent stem, I broke it off, figuring she could focus on holding the bud without it bending over lifelessly due to the cracked stem.

“MOMMY!  YOU KILLED IT!  YOU BROKED IT!  IT’S BROKED!  WHY DID YOU BREAK THAT PART OFF!  OH, NO!  OH, NO!”

So, my plan to plan to band-aid the situation failed, and we carried her out to the van kicking and screaming.  A few days later, her sweetheart of a Daddy brought home a whole bouquet of new buds…and all was right with the world.

I have to say…though it seems like behavior limited to toddlers, it’s not incomprehensible for adults to mirror the same tactics.  I myself, have tried to help in adult situations before, only making them worse.  Or, reacted poorly to someone just trying to help me…not knowing ‘breaking off the cracked stem’ wasn’t the solution I was looking for.

I’d like to say that I, myself, have matured enough to be a better friend…but I have to credit my kids a little for that.

Happy Springtime 🙂

Megs