Flower Power

I just got back from California. It was rainy there, go figure. In SoCal, life stops if it rains.

It was also at least 70 degrees, if not warmer, and there were flowers in bloom everywhere. Hibiscus, bougainvillea and roses. Everywhere we walked, there were these three and more.

On campus, the hibiscus (as well as the pansies) were chosen with an eye for color - gold and red, and red and gold. The campus rings with Trojan colors, but to see them in the form of hibiscus - oh, so lovely!! Like individual sunrises and sunsets.

But nothing tops roses. Expo park, just across from campus was still in full bloom. Colors there ranged from the whitest white to creamy yellow, from lavender to the hottest pink, and deep velvety reds, single-faced and long-stemmed. I saw my fave, Peace, and it's cuzzin Chicago Peace. Mr. Lincoln presided over one bed, while Celebration ran rampant in another.

And there in the middle of everything, with my beautiful daughter by my side, a bed labeled Perfect Moment. Indeed.

And then I came home to two dozen of the most lovely roses of all from a lovely, lovely man. Deep reds, white whites, salmon, lavender and the most innocent pinks.

And, in the mail, a card from my oldest daughter - the pic on the front, wisteria. She knows how much I love this plant, she once wrote a story about wisteria and our family which I keep tucked away next to all the amazing, insightful things my girls have written and painted and sculpted over the years.

My birthday was last week, November is my birthmonth, and if there were two words to describe that day, this month, this entire year, they would be Perfect Moment.

Thank you irish, monkey, angels one through four. I am one very lucky person.