Weeds

I'm not a lawn care person. I try very hard to not mow, fertilize, aerate, weed-eat, weed-whack or anything at all that might resemble some sort of lawn maintenance. I certainly don't water the grass. I figure it has grown just fine without my interference and let's just leave it at that. If it lives the whole summer, great. If it kicks off during the July drought, well then, that's a few less months of mowing for my husband.

The point is, I don't worry about the grass.

My neighbors do. They dig out the dandelions, yank up the creeping Charlie, treat, water, fertilize...the whole works. I know they look at our lawn with pity and disgust. Maybe some disdain. After all, we are the reason the creeping Charlie isn't eradicated from the neighborhood.

My lawn is green. It isn't all grass, what with the clover and other weeds mixed in, but the bulk of it is green, just like everyone else's. We have bright yellow dandelions, white clover flowers and purple creeping Charlie flowers. My kids make crowns and necklaces and ropes and bouquets of flowers everyday. They love that we don't kill off the flowers they love.

What we gain by not having a perfect lawn is the beauty that exists in unexpected places. We embrace the imperfections and roll with it. We don't waste time fighting a losing battle with weeds. In learning to live with my imperfections, accepting my imperfect lawn was my first step.

I'm okay with it.