Exceeding Expectations

This simple red carnation was taken from a floral arrangement from my grandma's funeral.

There were 3 other flowers in the vase--2 roses and 1 other carnation.

They were taken from the "Grandma" and "Great Grandma" arrangements.

I held the 4 flowers on my lap for  our 2 1/2 hour drive home.

(no wet paper towels, no water....just my plain lap)

I held them to my nose occasionally and breathed in their delicate fragrance

and remembered Grandma's rose bushes and flower gardens from my childhood.

I took a picture of this carnation today because it has been in this vase for 3 weeks.

It has exceeded its life expectancy.

It, like Grandma, has not played by the rules.

You see....during the last year of her life, Grandma  continued to hold on to life

 despite the doctor's reports of her failing liver, kidneys and heart.

This little carnation reminds me that Grandma is still with us.

We'll see it in flowers that don't spoil as early as we would anticipate.

We'll smell her in the kitchen when we make her recipes.

We'll feel her presence when we dig in the garden dirt.

Memories are worth the world to me.

I'm so happy to see this flower thriving past my expectations for it.

I love it when life treats me with something that exceeds my expectations.

Remember to take time to smell the flowers--even the proverbial ones.

Aren't they delicious?.