The Red Rose or Lasting Friendships!!

Sometimes things just get so befuddled that the brain just wishes for a respite from all that is happening. When things get like that, I usually head to the pier or the gardens. Those seem to be my refuges..my safe havens. This evening, I did just that. While in the garden, my eye was immediately drawn toward one of the rose bushes. Ahhh..the beautiful red roses were blooming! I love all the roses but this one holds a special place in my heart. It was given to me by a very sweet young lady. I met Toni at my oldest son and daughter-in-law's wedding. She is one of my daughter-in-law, Joanna's, closest friends. After talking with her for just a few minutes, we went our separate ways. With all the excitement of the wedding, the exact words of the conversation were soon forgotten but from that meeting an unique friendship would develop. After leaving Tennessee and arriving back to the Bayou, I thought often about this young lady. I thought of how easy it was to slip into a friendship with her..of how I now looked upon her as another one of "my girls". (Someone asked me one time how many children I had and I responded..several hundred! I seem to collect kids like most folks do stamps! I love them all!)

Several weeks passed after the wedding and my world was sort of turned upside-down. Hurricane Katrina hit and took its toll on the place. Things were a bit haywire, to say the least. My gardens, along with most everything else on the Coast, were in shambles. After the initial cleaning of debris and reconstruction of damages to the house, I was ready to replant! For our anniversary, Mark surprised me with materials to create a rose garden! I had it in my mind just how I wanted it but he had grander ideas! As usual, his were better! The rose garden was born..and the first bush to be planted? A red rose sent to me a few weeks earlier by Toni! She had shipped a beautiful red rose bush to me as a birthday gift! The rose bush was followed by an email explaining the thought behind the gift. The red rose was her mother's favorite and she wanted me to have one because certain things about me reminded her of her dear mother. I was so touched that tears welled up in my eyes as I read that email.

Today, that rose made me smile as it brought thoughts of Toni and the friendship that we still carry even though we have never seen each other again. There is a certain bond..a bond that cannot be explained..between us. This sweet young lady had become a dear friend after just a ten minute conversation and this friendship is still going strong after nearly seven years! Yes, that red rose is a prize! Thank you, Sweet Toni!