>The Meaning of Flowers

The evening after Punky’s ballet recital, Hubs brought her home a small bouquet of flowers to celebrate her achievement.

Punky was in the computer room, playing Dora the Explorer games, when he entered.

“These flowers are for you, Punky,” he said grandly, “for doing such a good job today during your ballet performance!”

We waited for an excited smile, a rush of words. We got neither. Punky looked perplexed. She took the flowers and stared at them quietly. Hubs and I looked at each other and smiled. With Punky, you never really know what’s going to happen.

“Do you like your flowers, Punky?” Hubs asked.

“Yes,” she said solemnly, still looking at them.

“What are you thinking?” he asked her.

She glanced at me worriedly, then looked back at Hubs.

“It’s just that sometimes when people give me flowers, it makes me feel funny,” she half-whispered. “Because I think they might want to marry me.”

You have no idea how hard it was for us to keep from laughing.

This post originally appeared on Parents.com.