Dandelion Dreams

My eight and ten year old cousins' enthusiasm to show their older compadre (aka- me) their secret hideout in the Maine woods was practically bursting out of the seams of their grass-stained clothes. They raced forward on the dirt road, telling me to pick up a stick for protection from the... actually, I never clearly understood what. I played along. I know we started out with a definite destination, but being young and very excited that they had a new (and willing) audience, they were easily distracted and pointed out every little thing along the way. The spooky chair sitting off to the side; the blueberries that were coming out early; the tire scrap in the stream; the dandelion puffs that you could make a wish on.

My eight year old cousin picked one for me while the ten year old blew furiously on hers. I hadn't wished on dandelion puffs in a while so the rules eluded me. I received the pillowy seed stalk as though it really held the magic promised me by my two guides. I thought carefully, inhaled as deeply as I could, quickly stated my wish (no, not out loud- I didn't forget that rule!) and let a gale of direct-hurricane-force wind assault my wish-maker.

They didn't all come off.

I really wanted my wish.

I noticed my cousin's dandelion stems were free and clear of any seeds. Surely my lung capacity was greater! Timidly, I asked the oldest of the two, "Do all the seeds have to come off in one blow?"

She answered immediately without looking up. "No. Try more."

I did. I just couldn't get the ones on the bottom off no matter how hard I tried. And I must have lost some of my cool with these two little munchkins because I really tried. (It doesn't look that cool to really try to blow seeds off a dandelion.)

Feeling even more sheepish and actually pretty childish compared to these experts, I ventured another question on completing the task. "What if I tried, but there are some that just won't come off?"

My cousin stopped dead in her tracks, looked me square in the eyes and said "Then pull them off with your fingers."

Wishing is passive. Making dreams real is an exercise. Forget the rules and get it done.