Try to Smell the Roses

Sept. 11, 2014

Rose garden at Fort Worth Botanic Garden

Well, my plan for celebrating instead of trying to escape what today is didn't go that well. I did everything I said I would do in yesterday's entry - except finding a bite of English Toffee - but it didn't improve the way I felt very much. The temple experience was the opposite of what I prayed it would be, and it was too warm and muggy to properly enjoy our stroll through the rose garden at the Botanic Garden - and the roses were mostly spent after a hot August.

Daughter said it eloquently in a sweet message to me this evening: "Anniversaries that you wish weren't anniversaries never come politely or slip past unnoticed ... but if you can find the positives, or at least the positive people who can bear the burden with you, it makes them less burdensome."

A few small rose blossoms are hanging on

She's right; I suppose no matter what my sisters and I do or don't do, this day will always be what it is. Still, it's better to do something positive to remember Mom than to dwell on all the unhappiness that is associated with September 11.  

Daughter also said in her message: "If we're going to have burdens, I can't think of anyone else I'd want to help bear or share a burden with than you." 

I could say the exact same thing about her :-) Spending the day with Daughter, Husby and Grandson #1, and just seeing the glorious garden this city built so many years ago and maintains so beautifully today - even sans blossoms in September - is something to be thankful for. That Mom & Dad loved roses gives me a nice reason to go there.

A nice spot to reflect

French & Italian landscapes were the inspiration for this garden, which is stunning when the roses are in bloom

Today I'm grateful that in light of swelling terrorist activity against Americans in recent weeks, namely the brutal beheading of two American journalists by ISIS terrorists, no attacks materialized on today's anniversary.