Sunflower Days

A boy went to kindergarten and learned about sunflowers.

He found an intact salted sunflower seed on the playground at school, and tried to plant it.

He talked incessantly about sunflowers.

Finally his mom bought a packet of sunflower seeds (not salted), and he planted a seed.

He watered the seed.

Visited the seed.

Worried about the seed.

And in time, the seed began to grow.

Still the boy watered, visited, and worried.

The seed became a plant. It grew and grew and grew.

Taller and taller it became - first it only reached the boys' knees, then his chest, and then finally it grew as tall as the boy, then as tall as his brother, then as tall as his sisters, then as tall as his dad, until one day it grew taller than all of them.

The leaves grew bigger too. Bigger than the boys' hand, bigger than his head.

Up, up, up the sunflower grew, reaching always for the sun.

Everyday the boy watered his plant, visited his plant, and worried about his plant.

Then one day, the boys' plant bloomed.

Just like the boy's smile!

(Seated on Christine's shoulders)