PART ONE

What do Dandelions Have to Do with Anger, Money,

Self-Esteem, Lack & Forgiveness?

 
I felt compelled to write this article about my experiences with anger, disappointments, and frustration at my parents for not providing my siblings and I with our basic needs and the Uncovering and Discovering Process that I went through to forgive them and get on with my life.
 
I discovered how low self-esteem, lack, anger, forgiveness and dandelions were all wrapped up in a package tied with a fancy red ribbon of Change, meaning I could open the package, go within and become aware of its contents and deal with them as I wished.
 
It is my hope that this article will encourage you to do the same in your life.
 
I believe every one of us has our own ‘Dandelion’ to become aware of, and then if we don’t like how we feel about it we have the power to change our feelings. No, we cannot go back into the past and change the events that took place, but we can change how we feel about them and how we view them!
 
Now let’s start at the beginning –
 
I was a poor PK (Preacher’s Kid). My father was a traveling evangelist. Many years ago the whole country was undergoing a depression and unfortunately I was growing up during this period of time. And of course we all wore ‘hand me downs,’ and had broken down discarded furniture and all that goes with being poor.

At times we lived in a parsonage (a house provided for the minister) and received donations of food from the congregation. However the congregation was also going through difficult financial times. Some only had enough to feed their own families.
 
Too many times I can vividly recall my mom cooking dinner and what she was cooking was dandelions. We ate fried dandelions, dandelion stew, dandelion soup, dandelion greens, and dandelion salads sprinkled with vinegar. She was very creative in serving them in various ways. The only thing we did not have was dandelion wine as my parents did not believe in drinking alcohol or wine. Mom also roasted the roots to make a type of tea.
 
I remember coming in from stacking wood and praying that there would be some real food in the house. Yes, at times we did have food when a farmer and/or a member of the congregation had some extra meat, milk or eggs. But it was the dandelion that was the main stay of food that I remember. 
 
Now I realize that dandelions are very nutritious and it was probably an important factor in us being somewhat healthy and actually saving our lives.  Although I remember my sister was put into the hospital for malnutrition and I worked making a few cents an hour and bought her some fruit. I remember going with my parents to the hospital and I put the fruit in her hospital room. I was horrified later to hear that she was unable to eat fruit at that time and later saw the staff enjoying the fruit. In my 11 year old mind I thought that if I brought her fruit, she would magically get well and come home. We were always at the mercy of other people’s gifts of food, sometimes of shelter and just plain living.

When mom made our salad we picked the new plants that had not even sprouted a flower yet. She said these tastes the best. She would thoroughly wash them, place them in cold water, and then she would shake the leaves and dry them on paper towels. And that would be our meal. Now I believe in the value of dandelions and know that the dandelion greens are believed to include vitamins A, B, and C.

Superstitions and Folklore

Of course my family being very religious did not believe in superstition and folklore. I have read that if you picked a dandelion and the blossom stayed open all night, it would forecast rain the next day. If you sniffed a dandelion and if your nose turned yellow you are in love with a fellow, if it did not turn yellow no fellow is in love with you.

I wish I could remember what happened to my nose when I sniffed dandelions. Another story was that it is bad luck to pick dandelions in a cemetery and even worse if you bring them home and give them away. I do remember being stung by a bee or hornet and I was told to take the dandelion flower and rub it in my hands and then rub it on the bee or hornet bite. Even now I remember that it did help and took away the sting almost instantly.

Once the dandelions turned to seed, we would blow them off into white swirls and make a wish, you know sort of like blowing out the candles on a birthday cake and making a wish. I can’t remember if any of my wishes at that time came true or not, but it was fun doing the exercise.

The French people are no strangers to the benefits of dandelions. They grow dandelions to eat just as we grow lettuce in our gardens.

When cooking dandelions mom used to wash them well with water, then place them in a pan and pour boiling water over them. She would let them boil for at least five minutes, then season with salt and butter. We would eat them hot.

At times she if the taste was too strong she would gather the bloom buds and cook them with the leaves to lessen the bitter taste.

Now I realize that the dandelion is one of the hardiest plants known to man. It has numerous uses from medicinal to child’s play.
FEAST OR FAMINE

Our family also had two sides of the coin-–at times it was feast and other times it was famine. My grandfather was the Minister, Telephone Company Owner, Grocery Store Owner, Notary Public in a tiny town in Alberta, Canada. When we went to visit our grandparents we ate and lived like Kings and Queens. Then it was time to travel with our parents preaching the gospel and this is when we experienced hard times, no money and never getting quite enough to fill our tummies.
 
Experiencing Hunger

I remember one day we were invited to this rich lady’s home for Christmas dinner. The table was all set beautifully. My brother Danny and I were sitting in a corner watching people going back and forth and putting things on the table. We were both very hungry and Danny said, “Yep I’m gonna get some bread for us.” He gingerly approached the table and just as he was going to reach for the bread a server hit his hand and told him to go away.
 
Then she told everyone how Danny was trying to steal bread and what a bad boy he was and that he should be severely punished. I thought at the time this was such a cruel and mean thing for this woman to do. Then later I thought of course she did not know that both Danny and I were very hungry.
 
Our grandparents did help financially as much as they could, but most of their money was tied up in real estate. They did ask our family to come and live with them, but that was not what my parents wanted to do. My father just had to follow his ‘calling’ of preaching.
 

My father passed away when I was sixteen and our family was very short of money. I finished High School early and worked two jobs to help feed our family as dad had no life insurance. Now I want to be clear—I am not feeling sorry for myself or saying that I was so great, I am really just remembering and telling what happened.

When I look back upon those days, I give thanks as I learned some very important lessons that followed me into adult life.


          . . . . .   Stay tuned   - - -- -     More in next Part to be published in June, 2012!