Black red heads and blondies, Queen Anne's Lace and God is stll good.

Waiting for our friends just inside the less popular gate at Kew Gardens, my boys sit on the bench and eat an oatcake. Nice clean little boys. We look at the tree and talk about what kind of tree it is (Indian Horse Chestnut) and what the leaves look like. After this the boys get up to look at the neighboring tree. "Mom feel the dirt, its so warm!" I touched the dark earth with my hand, it was warm...I could see what was coming. Within minutes their arms and faces are covered in black dirt. They look like the only red and blond haired black children I have ever seen. Love them. Love that they could do that.
Our friends who were meeting us arrive, the children greet one another with roars and dirt throwing followed by chasing through the tall grasses, bluebells and queen Anne's lace flowers (I think they were Queen Anne's Lace, though maybe not...light and white)
A caveat on Queen Anne's Lace, its a reminder flower for me...7 years ago when I was in a very rough patch, heading into a mild depression, I was driving myself north bound on 270 from highway 40 in St. Louis. Dark thoughts were rambling in my head in those days, and I remember looking to the side and seeing the Queen Anne's Lace blowing in the breeze. God is still good, they seemed to whisper gently, God is still good. Every time I see that flower I remember that, God is still good. Two years ago I was caught in a dark summer as I battled with overwhelming health issues and caring for new baby..."Todd, I'll give you a hint, see all that Queen Anne's Lace growing along the road, pick some for me." Well that year he didn't, but the following year he did. God love him, he came home with the roots, the dirt, the long stems and the puff of white flower on the top. The flower drooped all over...FYI much better on the road side where it tells you gently, "God is still good."
Anyway, here was our beautiful day at Kew, and we let the children lead the way for most of the day. They raced around the pagoda, they had a treasure hunt with pretend maps and instructions, they wandered through the flowers and had to be reminded not to pick them, we had a picnic on a blanket in the partial shade and partial sun. They found a small enclosure with a bench which became a house, a campfire, a "nest of fire", and even an office. The children pretended to be birds, flew to a picnic table, stood on the top and all of them flapped their wings while making up songs and dancing, then jumping off again. They dove into the deep grass, and pleaded with me to take a dive too. It was such a soft and warm bed of grass..."lay here until we tap you to get up." Tim laid on top of me, Ethan on my left and our other friend on the right.
While the children played, I chatted with my friend on the blanket, cuddled her baby girl and tended to our little ones as they came back for snacks, afterbite applications, snuggles or arbitration for disputes.
Somewhere in the midst of the day, I knew that even when things are difficult here, and they are difficult here, that God is still good.