"Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one.
I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will be as one. "
~John Lennon


Friday, August 1, 2014

The Power Of A Rose

My friend Jean carried a rose into the senior center today. She suggested that the winner of the Mexican Train Dominoes would take the rose home. The rose is a soft peach color, slightly darker in the center, fading to the outside petals. The scent was captivating. Jean sat to my left, the rose sitting prettily in a small plastic used water bottle. It might as well have been a crystal vase for how much it affected each of us. It was the first time any one of us had brought something to share at the weekly dominoes game.

Low score is how you win in this game, and we were all hoping to end up low score. We played for over two hours, laughing and sharing, and visiting like we always do, and passing around the plastic bottle so we could all enjoy the tantalizing smell of home grown rose. I kept thinking how lucky Jean is to have these absolutely lovely flowers to drink in visually and cut occasionally to bring into her home. (Insert big sigh.)

When we began putting tiles away and clearing the table, I was the one with the low score. Being the winner is not the usual outcome for me when we play dominoes. But winning the game was not the best part anyway. Winning the rose was what put the sparkle in my eyes. I haven't had a fresh flower in my place since my birthday in February. That isn't a terribly long time. But having this rose within reach has brought an abundance of joy into my life. I had no idea how much I would like having a live flower to enjoy again. I don't need a large bouquet, a single rose has fulfilled my yearning, and today is only the first day. Imagine, I get to enjoy this lovely rose for many more days. I am blessed.


8 comments:

Pauline said...

What a delightful post, CiCi. I feel as if I am sharing the pleasure of the rose. Well done with the low score.

DJan said...

Congratulations on winning that lovely rose. It truly is beautiful. Thanks for sharing it with me, too. :-)

Brian Miller said...

hey good stuff on winning the rose...we play mexican train dominos all the time...

stephen Hayes said...

I'm glad this rose was won by someone capable of enjoying it so much. I feel like I can smell it from here. Just wonderful...

Lawrence T. Udo-Ekpo said...

Ah, the scent of the winning rose! Dream fulfilled - well done!!

Hilary said...

What a great post, CiCi. I'll bet Jean was just as pleased that her rose went to someone who gets so much enjoyment out of it. Beautiful.

Tabor said...

Congrats on you POTW...and thanks for sharing!

TexWisGirl said...

so sweet. congrats on your POTW!