The Meadow

There's a field near our house that has always inspired me. On one end sits a gorgeous willow tree whose branches rest down to the ground. It's always looked like such a warm and inviting place to play.

Yesterday when passing the field, I noticed that its meadows were tall and green, sprinkled with yellow everywhere. The grasses were long and filled with blooming dandelions.

It looked like an absolutely wonderful place to play. I called up a friend, and we arranged an evening playdate in the dandelions.

As we walked back into the field that evening, I paused for a moment. The gorgeous dandelions and tall grasses...all were gone. Remnants of grass and cut dandelion heads lay all over the ground.

The mowers had been by in the few hours since we had arranged the playdate.

But we were there to play, and a little cut grass has never stopped play. The kids had a great time running around and being silly.

...and then suddenly we saw it! A section of the field had -somewhat bizarrely - not been mowed. The kids adored running in and out of grasses not much smaller than themselves, of bopping up and down like Whac-a-Mole animals.

It turned out to be a magical evening for a playdate.