My Parents' Poppies (5.30.2019)

​            My parents have lived in the same home for my entire life in Fox, Indiana. Their house is situated on five acres, with a huge backyard and four livestock areas. There are so many parts of the land at this house that I love. I have fond memories of playing in the front yard, catching lightning bugs below hundred-year-old trees. An old, weathered barn used to stand in the front of the house, where I would play basketball for hours. I spent countless hours with my sister on the playground equipment my dad built for us.
            My favorite part about their land, however, is under a large tree in their backyard. Every year, right around Mother’s Day, the most beautiful patch of poppies blooms. Poppies are the most breath-taking flowers. They grow so tall and have curvy, furry stems. The petals are the most vibrant orange, and the center of the flower is seedy and purple. Their strange, unique appearance make them stand out, no matter where they bloom.
            As you might know, poppies are very fragile flowers. Their petals are beautiful but seem to begin to wilt as soon as you remove the flower from the ground. As my mom always told me, “They aren’t meant to be taken from their home”. To enjoy the poppies, then, you just have to admire them where they bloom. As a kid, I spent hours playing near (and in) the poppies- smelling them, touching their furry stems and inevitably picking one or two.
            As I have gotten older, I have tried multiple times to get poppies to grow at my house. I planted poppies I have uprooted from my parents’ house, poppies I had bought from Lowe’s and tons of poppy seeds. None of them took hold. My goal someday is to have a huge patch, like the one my parents have in their backyard.
            This year was the first year I did not get to see the poppies while they were in bloom. Due to our weather this spring, the poppies bloomed after Mother’s Day for the first time ever. My mom sent me a picture of the poppies, and I instantly thought of all the positive memories I had in their backyard.