This morning, on my way out the door, I glimpsed a vase of roses on the mantel.  When did my husband sneak those inside without me noticing?  Deep red and romantic, their message is clear.

Before I met that giver of roses, the meaning of flowers wasn’t always so apparent.  When I was a teenager, a boy had a florist deliver me a new bouquet each day of the week leading up to our first (and only) date.  It was extraordinary!  My mother and three sisters were as charmed as I was.  The whole house smelled of springtime and pulsed with anticipation.  But . . . when I thanked the boy for the outpouring of blooms, he said he was just “using me as a guinea pig” to see how other girls would react to floral generosity.

An even more perplexing flower incident occurred on a different first date.  When the boy opened the passenger door of his pickup truck for me, I saw a tiny weed in my seat.  The weed presented a problem in that it wasn’t decidedly a weed.  At least, it did have a few straggly petals at the top.  The diminutive blooming conundrum was a fraction of the size of a blade of grass.  My thoughts were a jumble.  Did this just blow into his car?  If so, I should simply brush it onto the floorboard.  But, what if he picked this out of my parents’ yard?  Should I pretend to be grateful to spare his feelings?  I chose the latter option.  “Thank you,” I almost whispered.  He beamed and said, “You’re welcome!”

After I met my true love, I no longer had to wonder about the motives behind blossoms.  While picnicking together, I picked wildflowers and tucked them into his hair.  I thought he would be embarrassed and shake them out, but he surprised me.  He wore them as we walked across our college campus, never caring what anyone thought of him.  He only cared that I knew I was loved.

Now that confident boy, who wore flowers in his hair for me, has been my husband for seventeen years.  Since he knows all my stories, he likes to tease me when he gives me flowers, saying, “They just blew into my car!”  I wonder what he’s penned inside that red envelope waiting on the mantel.  🙂

Happy Valentine’s Day!!! ♥♥♥♥♥