Disclaimer: I promise this will be the last discussion of “Plants vs. Zombies” (for a while, at least)!

Arlo’s deep dive into his “friend who doesn’t know he’s his friend”‘s YouTube channel led us to the purchase of a PvZ game for Playstation 4 (we already owned the console; don’t worry) called “Garden Warfare.” It turned out to be a wild success, and after the kids went to bed during this craze, there were nights that Brian spent some time playing the game, ostensibly to level up the characters for the kids, but also because he really enjoyed it. I have to say, even I grew rather fond of the righteously cute yet fierce flowers and the buffoonish, cartoonish zombies. Even the sound effects, which usually for me are a huge video-game turnoff, didn’t cause stress or annoyance. Plus it was springtime, during those months when the pandemic was finally hinting at its final phases, so it felt appropriate for energy and thought and time to be invested in cultivating plants, including those on screen whose purpose was the salvation of humanity.

One night while I was doing something surely nonessential in the kitchen, Brian was playing “Garden Warfare” with the audio off, and I was paying approximately zero attention to anything going on outside of my headspace and the countertop I was probably cleaning. At one point, he started talking, and when I tuned in I heard him say, “She’s really great! She can heal herself AND she can heal others! She’s kind of powerful. And she’s pretty! She’s sunny, and that’s awesome! I really like her!”

Sunflower, I want to be just like you someday.