Let the Games Begin!

Well ok, not the Olympic games but the games in my gardens! We have had days and days of rain but today it actually stopped and I had the opportunity to spend a few hours outside pruning and cleaning up after winter. Three wheelbarrows later numerous thorn pricks and one blister, I only had one part of the front gardens done. Either I am really getting slower or the task is bigger than I imagine. It did feel good to be outside and doing something in the gardens - even if it was cleaning up. I love the smell of dirt!

As I traveled down the hill of our property to empty the wheelbarrows, I was again amazed at the hundreds and hundreds of daffodils already blooming. It is a river of yellow and white cascading down the hills in the front yard and the back. I know it is much earlier this year but it is glorious and I am again thankful that the previous owners worked so hard to plant all these bulbs.

Last summer Michelle and I dug up hundreds of bulbs to make room for the stairs that were to be put in (another story). Well, we obviously missed a lot as the entire spot we thought we had gleaned is covered in a sea of yellow! Things could be worse :)

Here is to Spring and the games in my gardens - today - Weeds 0, me 1 !!!!!

Roses, Roses and More Roses!

So many roses! Valentine's Day is the busiest day of the year (well it runs close with Mother's Day) in a floral shop. I have been told several times how the floral business has really suffered with the economy - arranged flowers are really a luxury for many, but I lost track of how many rose arrangements I made over a three day period. As Valentine's was on a Sunday, the holiday stretched out over several days for us at the flower shoppe. I enjoyed the different personalities of the guys that came in .... some you knew felt so out of place and thought if they just stared into our cooler of fresh flowers and arrangements, the right one or idea would come to them! One fellow called and as we visited he asked "so what do they want, anyway?" I thought, oh brother, this poor guy maybe should have discovered a little about his girlfriend before this. I suggested tulips and lilies and of course roses and he really just wanted to do what was "right," which I guess meant an arrangement of a dozen long stemmed roses! Did he realize how much that was going to be?

But then there was the elderly gentleman, who's hands trembled from Parkinson's who truly did want a bouquet of long stemmed red roses for his sweet wife of 60+ years, professing his love for his beloved with simply loving her now and always. The true sweetness and portrayal of his love was so apparent,yet even while his wife suffers from Alzheimer's and has not recognized him for quite some time, how important it was for both of them that she have flowers. His demonstration of love and faithfulness filled my heart and my eyes with tears.

There were the little ones who came in with their dads to surprise Mom. Eyes glittering with the anticipation of doing something special for mom. They would share all the secrets they had planned - it was going to be hard to wait until Sunday for these munchkins.

I have often felt that guys really got stuck doing something that Hallmark and society told them they should do but as I watched and listened to countless stories of love and hopeful love I may have changed my mind ... isn't it good for us to stop and really say I love you; for us to think ahead and plan on how to shower one with either a single flower or 60 roses; to chose to do something for someone we care about even if we think the holiday is contrived. It didn't have to be flowers or candy - but something done or said that illustrated we really do love them and are putting our loved ones before ourselves.

Recognizing we should be doing this everyday, yet still setting apart one day to show our love for each other maybe isn't such a bad thing after all. It may be just what is needed for the one giving or the one receiving.

Acknowledging God's love for me and that it freely given everyday - is a gentle reminder of how I am to love Him and others everyday, too.