Grandma Rose

I don't know, maybe I'm obsessed with flowers. I can't seem to drink in enough of their beauty! Usually by this time of year though I'm tired of the garden, it's hot and I just maintain without the enthusiasm of early spring! But because I'm entertaining my daughter and her new husband next week, and inviting a few of our friends into our yard to celebrate with them, I've been continually working in the yard. I actually laid a bit of sod today! As I was trimming the roses I cut a few old ones to throw away, when I noticed how beautiful the older roses really are. At closer glance, though they are starting to wilt, they have a kind of beauty so different than the new healthy buds and the flowers in their perfect prime. They are softer somehow and they seem to open themselves up so wide, as though accepting the world, accepting their place in time, and inviting anyone willing, to listen to their wisdom, and bask in their serenity. They made me want to snuggle into their soft fragile bosom and find respite from the cares and demands of the world---soft, sweet, lovely Grandma Roses!