PANSY PASSION

I had just finished grocery shopping and was placing the last bag on the counter-top when my son, Alex came out of his room.

“Do you need help unloading the car?” he asked as he zipped up his sweatshirt and began heading for the front door.

“Thanks, but I got it all.” I called before he went outside.

“Oh great!” he came into the kitchen and began helping me unload the bags. “I thought you said you were doing a big shopping?” he looked at the half a dozen bags sitting on the counter.

“Well, I couldn't fit anymore in the grocery cart, so this was all I could get.” I explained as I placed a box of cereal in the cabinet while Alex put away the gallon of milk.

He looked around and seemed confused. “This filled your cart?”

“Well, not this so much.” I motioned for him to follow me into the living room. I pointed out the front window at the container of miniature pansies I'd placed on the front porch. “Aren't they beautiful!” I cried as we took a moment to watch the tiny purple flowers dance in the breeze. “I just needed some color around here to get me past this horrible winter!” I looked over at Alex barely able to contain my glee. “They were just unloading them from the truck when I was getting my cart.” I looked out the window again at my new plant treasure. “How lucky was that?”

Alex shrugged his shoulder. “Real lucky, I guess. But why did that stop you from getting any groceries?”

“Well, once I put that in my cart there really wasn't much room for anything else.” I shrugged my shoulders. “I didn't want anything to damage the flowers. So I only got the few things that fit around it.”

Alex looked confused. “Why didn't you get the shopping done first and then get the flowers? They would have balanced on top of everything.”

I shook my head. “Because they were just putting them out.” I pointed to the flowers out the window. “If I'd gone back after shopping, someone else would have gotten the best one! I couldn't let that happen!”

It was Alex's turn to shake his head. “So why didn't you buy the plant, put it in the car then go back and get the shopping done?”

That made me stop for a moment before I shrugged my shoulders. “I guess because I never thought of that.” I turned around and smiled at him again. “But aren’t they beautiful?”

Alex laughed. “They are, but there still isn't anything here to eat for lunch.”

“Did you know pansies are edible?” I looked back at flowers. “Not that I'd let you eat any of mine, but they say they have a nice wintergreen flavor.” I looked back at Alex waiting for him to be impressed with my edible flower knowledge.

He wasn't.

Instead he put his sweatshirt back on, zipped it up and went out to the kitchen to grab the car keys. “I'm headed out to get something to eat. Do you want anything?” he asked.

“Oh, I'm starving!” I cried. “Do you want to split a tuna on a bagel?”

“Sure.” Alex laughed as headed for the front door.

“Maybe when I done eating I'll go back and finish the shopping!” I called after him.

“That would be awesome!”