Showing posts with label roses. Show all posts
Showing posts with label roses. Show all posts

The Rose

 
Red roses were her favorites,
Her name was also Rose,
And every year her husband sent them,
tied with pretty bows.
 
The year he died,
the roses were delivered to her door.
The card said, "Be my Valentine,"
like all the years before.
 
Each year he sent her roses,
and the note would always say,
"I love you even more this year,
than last year on this day.
 
My love for you will always grow,
with every passing year."
She knew this was the last time
that the roses would appear.
 
She thought, he ordered roses
in advance before this day.
Her loving husband did not know,
that he would pass away.
 
He always liked things early,
way before the time.
Then if he got too busy,
everything would work out fine.
 
She trimmed the stems,
and placed them in a very special vase.
Then, sat the vase
beside the portrait of his smiling face.
 
She would sit for hours,
in her husband's favorite chair.
While staring at his picture,
and the roses sitting there.
 
A year went by,
and it was hard to live without her mate.
With loneliness and solitude,
that had become her fate.
 
Then that very hour,
as on Valentine's before,
The doorbell rang, and there were roses,
sitting by her door.
 
She brought the roses in,
and just looked at them in shock.
Then, she went to get the telephone,
to call the florist shop.
 
The owner answered, and she asked him,
if he would explain,
Why would someone do this to her,
causing her such pain?
 
"I know your husband passed away,
more than a year ago,"
The owner said, "I knew you'd call,
and you would want to know.
 
The flowers you received today,
were paid for in advance,
your husband always planned ahead,
he left nothing to chance.
 
There is a standing order,
that I have on file down here,
as he has paid, well in advance,
you'll get them every year.
There is also another thing,
that I think you should know,
 
He wrote a special little card...he did this years ago,
Then should I find out that he's no longer here,
That's the card...that should be sent to you the following year."
 
She thanked him and hung up the phone,
her tears now flowing hard.
Her fingers shaking, as she slowly
reached to get the card.
 
Inside the card, she saw that he
had written her a note.
Then, as she stared in total silence,
this is what he wrote...
 
"Hello my love, I know
it's been a year since I've been gone,
I hope it hasn't been too hard
for you to overcome.
 
I know it must be lonely,
and the pain is very real.
Or if it was the other way,
I know how I would feel.
 
The love we shared made everything
so beautiful in life,
I loved you more than words can say,
you were the perfect wife.
 
You were my friend and lover,
you fulfilled my every need.
I know it's only been a year,
but please try not to grieve.
 
I want you to be happy,
even when you shed your tears.
That is why the roses
will be sent to you for years.
 
When you get these roses,
think of all the happiness,
that we had together,
and how both of us were blessed.
 
I have always loved you,
and you know I always will.
But my love, you must go on,
you have some living still.
 
Please... try to find happiness,
while living out your days.
I know it is not easy,
but I hope you find some ways.
 
The roses will come every year,
and they will only stop,
When your door's not answered,
when the florist stops to knock.
 
He will come five times that day,
in case you have gone out.
But after his last visit,
he will know without a doubt.
 
To take the roses to the place,
where I've instructed him.
And place them where we are,
together once again.
 
Sometimes in life, you find a special friend;
Someone who changes your life just by being part of it.
Someone who makes you laugh until you can't stop;
Someone who makes you believe that there really is good in the world.
Someone who convinces you that there really is an unlocked door just waiting for you to open it.
This is forever friendship.
 
-- Author Unknown
 
======

Peter Allan C. Mariano

Talakayan at Kalusugan - DWAD1098KHz 10-11am Every Tuesday 
The Big NM - Network Management for Filipinos
Links2Prosperity Marketing - Web Marketing : Web Content : Web Design
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Mean What You Say... Say It With Flowers


BRATINELLA and ME @ RHTV

A couple of weeks ago, I guested anew in a radio/TV show discussing alternative dispute resolution, human rights, and my urban farm. We had a fun and wacky evening, together with my partner at BRATINELLA and ME as we shared our antics and laughter with the host of the show.

THE GARDEN OF LOVE


(photo courtesy of 1-800Flowers.com)

by Ann Platz

Before I met my husband, John, every attempt I'd made to find and keep love had led to disappointment and heartbreak.

John knew this, and so when he proposed to me, he vowed, "Your life with me will be a bed of roses!"

I was deeply touched by John's sentiment, especially since I knew he would do everything he could to make good on his promise. But of course, hardships come in life no matter how wonderfully our spouses treat us. And by the time our tenth anniversary rolled down, we'd experienced our share of stress and difficulty. It had been the hardest year we'd encountered together so far. What if John actually forgot our anniversary? After all, I'd been disappointed by men so many times before.

I need not have worried. John took me to a beautiful restaurant where he'd reserved a table with a lovely view. After a delicious, romantic meal by candlelight, we returned home and prepared for bed. In our bathroom, I brushed my hair a long time and applied some of John's favorite perfume.
When I came back into the bedroom, I noticed that John was smiling like an excited little boy. I couldn't imagine what he'd been up to. Then suddenly he folded the bedcovers back, and I gasped with delight and surprise. The entire bed was covered in rose petals, their fragrance filling the room.

“John, how did you do this? Where did you get all these roses?"

"Well," he said with a big grin," I called the florist and ordered pale pink Oceana roses like the ones you carried in your bouquet when we married. I requested that the blossoms be full and that the roses not be arranged. Then I spent hours gently pulling the petals apart."

I was so overwhelmed by his gesture that my eyes spilled over with tears. As John kissed them away, he gently held me and whispered, "Didn't I promise you a bed of roses when I proposed?"

"Yes, you did! But I never..."

That evening John and I celebrated our anniversary in a garden of love--and there were no thorns. I felt my wounded heart let go of old pains and lingering doubts. In their place, a healing peace engulfed me, and I fully understood the words from 1 John 4:18 for the first time:

"Perfect love drives out fear."

"LIVE NOW, BELIEVE ME, WAIT NOT TILL TOMORROW; GATHER THE ROSES OF LIFE TODAY." -  
Pierre De Ronsard


Peter Allan C. Mariano

Talakayan at Kalusugan - DWAD1098KHz 10-11am Every Tuesday 
The Big NM - Network Management for Filipinos
Links2Prosperity Marketing - Web Marketing : Web Content : Web Design
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Counting Valentines Roses

© 2009 by Peter Allan Mariano
Links 2 Prosperity



 
(photo courtesy of 1-800-Flowers.com)

Since our early days in school, we were often fascinated when Valentine’s Day comes. We would cutout hearts from colored paper then give them out to our crushes in a simple puppy love gesture. As we grew older, our Valentine’s Day gifts became more sophisticated – from greeting cards to single stemmed valentines roses.

But what does this gesture of giving out gifts and valentine’s flowers actually mean? Who was Valentine anyway? The Church identifies three possible people as the original Valentine, but the stories were as murky as the chocolate you get come Valentine’s Day. However, they do portray a person who is sympathetic, heroic and romantic.

One legend narrates that Valentine was a priest who defied Emperor Claudius II decree preventing young men from getting married and dedicate themselves as soldiers of Rome. Fighting this injustice, Valentine continued to perform marriage rites until he was caught and put to death. According to the legend, it was Valentine himself who sent the first valentine’s card to a girl, probably the jailor’s daughter, writing “from your Valentine”, which is still used as an expression in modern times. He was so famous during the middle ages that the Church commemorated the anniversary of his death, which is continuously celebrated until now.

In modern times, Valentine’s Day gifts almost always involve flowers, particularly roses. This practice has become very famous throughout the years that they even gave meaning to the number of roses given during Valentine’s Day.

1 rose: “You are the one.”

2 roses: mutual attraction or mutual understanding

3 roses: “I Love You”

4 roses: no meaning in particular but some Asian cultures consider this unlucky

6 roses: “I want to be yours.”

7 roses: infatuation

10 roses: “You are perfect”

12 roses: “Be mine”

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. Knowing the background and history of Valentines gives a new meaning and purpose to this significant day, not only for lovers, but anyone who has love in their hearts.


© 2009



Peter Allan C. Mariano

Talakayan at Kalusugan - DWAD1098KHz 10-11am Every Tuesday 
The Big NM - Network Management for Filipinos
Links2Prosperity Marketing - Web Marketing : Web Content : Web Design
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