A Tale of Two Flowers

When Dave and I had been dating for a few weeks I knew he liked me but I had thick walls up.  I had had my heart broken a few months before and I wasn't about to let it happen again.  One night we were on a date and I didn't really want to be alone with him so I suggested we go wait for my friend, Jeremy to get off work.  Jeremy worked at a high end restaurant at the Bellagio.  I was tired and was sitting in a big chair with my head back and my eyes closed when Dave said to me "here, I picked you a flower".  I opened my eyes to see that he had picked a huge beautiful flower from one of the imported flower arrangements in the waiting area.  I was afraid we were going to get in trouble so I shoved the flower down my shirt.  However...something happened to me in that very moment.  All of my walls came tumbling down and Dave had me from that moment on.  I pressed that flower and it has held a place of honor in our home ever since.  

 Well...a few weeks ago I was bringing Cameron home from golf when the girls called to tell me that they had opened the flower from its frame and it had fallen apart.  FIFTEEN years!  I was devastated.  It had been "one of those days" and I started to cry.  Cameron asked me why I was crying over a flower and so I reminded him of what that flower meant to me.  When I got home I went in to the house to see if I could salvage my flower.  As you can see from the picture I was able to make it look almost normal.  While I was fretting over my broken flower Cameron walked in the house with a flower in his hand.  He had picked it from my flower bed.  He said "Mom, I know it can't replace the flower Dad gave you but maybe it will help just a little".  Now I truly burst into tears and gave my son a hug bigger than anything he is comfortable with.

 Now I have two very special flowers that live side by side in their place of honor in my home.

I am truly grateful for the man I married and the little man that is growing up right before my eyes.  I am also thankful for my little girls that survived to live another day.