Jack the Sunflower
Drew brought home a Dixie cup from his second grade teacher this Spring. In it we found what looked like a weed or a blade of grass, no taller than your pinky finger. Drew told us it was a sunflower. Kurt and I just looked at one another, “How could that be a sunflower?” We were skeptical and questioned why we had to care for such a sad looking little thing, but Drew insisted it was a sunflower. “You’ll see. It’s supposed to grow pretty big, pretty fast, and all we need to do is water it and put it in the sunlight,” Drew told us. So the Dixie cup sat on our windowsill. Drew watered it nearly every other day. He was the sole caregiver for this little weed growing in my kitchen. Sure enough, that little guy started to grow, and once he did, he grew exponentially every day. Before we knew it, he was too big for his Dixie cup. Drew insisted we had to put him in a bigger pot. He still just looked like a weed to us (just a taller weed), but we obliged and put him in a bigger pot and moved him to the back porch. He really liked having the extra space to stretch out and started growing wildly, so wildly that he fell over limp. Drew found a stick in the backyard, positioned it in his pot, and tied him up to it so that he was vertical again. I honestly paid no mind to this plant and expected it to eventually die off, but he just kept getting bigger, stronger, and taller, and he started to look a lot less like a weed. It wasn’t until then that we Googled what a sunflower plant looked like, and sure enough, that’s what we had! So the next obvious move was to plant him in the garden.
I wish I had a picture of what he looked like when Drew brought him home in that Dixie cup, but this is what he looks like today. We had so much fun watching him grow throughout the Summer and even took bets on when he’d bloom. He grew so much each day that we ended up naming him “Jack,” for “Jack and the Beanstalk.”
Mother nature never ceases to amaze me. The miracle of life happens all around us every day. There are two very important lessons that Jack taught us:
1) Don’t judge a book by it’s cover. Kurt and I couldn’t believe that little weed looking thing could possibly grow into an 11 feet beautiful sunflower. Shame on us, because look at Jack now.
2) With a little love, anything can grow. If it weren’t for Drew loving and caring for Jack, I can honestly say he wouldn’t have made it. Drew was the one who gave him what he needed and nurtured him into what he is today. Jack has become a highlight of our Summer, a joy to watch grow, and something that makes us smile every day.
Mom suggestion (or anyone looking for a little happy): I’d encourage anyone with young kids to grow one for yourself. They’re easy, grow fast, and who doesn’t want a real life beanstalk in your backyard?! There are many different kind, but if you buy the Mammoth Sunflower, those are the ones that usually grow between 9 and 12 feet tall. Jack is a Mammoth.
