Ahhh...the dandelion...the stuff that dreams are made of. Today, Marah, Adin and I danced around the backyard picking them, wishing, and then blowing away the gossamer, plumed seeds. I see these plants often, and never think about them beyond the necessary moment. I am too busy working on my life, working on my children's lives, to really contemplate and thank the earth for them. Of course, such a thing happens all the time - you acknowledge certain things and move forward to the next task.

Earlier this week, as I was doing some errands, I passed by a building in which I'd rented my last formal law office. It wasn't an office really...it was a desk in an accountant's office. Prior to renting the space, I had to give up a roomy, expensive office because I was about to have my third child and wanted to wind down the practice. When I first gave up the lease though, when I still had furniture sitting in the large space, I didn't know where to go. I still had files to manage and didn't want to move the practice home. I still needed a place to meet with clients.

An accountant I knew offered to sublease this small spot in his space to me. I agreed, plopping down my computer on the desk and beginning the process of finishing work. Month-to-month, cheap. I was so relieved. Soon after Marah was born, my mother grew sick, and soon we learned she had a terminal neurological disease. I couldn't pay the rent month-to-month as I wasn't working steadily anymore and my heart was no longer there.

Not once did this accountant ever ask me for the rent. His landlord didn't either. They both waited patiently and would take the money when I could give it. After my mother's death, I rarely stepped foot in there - too much hurt, too much to deal with. When I finally recovered enough, I gave them notice and paid what was due. They gave me hugs, smiles, empathy, and I went off to begin a new life with my new baby, as a stay-at-home mother - one without either parent to guide me as my father had died years ago.

So as I passed by that building the other day, I had to thank some very special people who'd given me much needed patience, who by their quiet, occupied a space in my life that allowed me to gain my footing again. I don’t think they’ll ever really know how important they were.

What is it? A small, unassuming plant that allows a soul to be just a little free…for a single moment in time.