Love

Rose lovers may recognize this rose - it is called "Love." I was so happy tonight to see that this one had bloomed in my garden at the back of my house. A weekend of cold rain followed by two days of warm sunshine will do wonders for living things - including insects!

I remember a time when I thought love meant passionate romance and declarations of undying devotion. It was candlelit dinners and small wrapped gifts, delivered flowers, and hand penned love poems. Oh, those days are so long gone. I wouldn't even know what to do with that kind of nonsense today.

Today I got to sit in an AA meeting and just be with some other alcoholics. That felt like love to me this morning.

This evening I got to knit a pair of tiny booties to go with the tiny hats I have knit for this tiny grandchild who is still four months away from being due. What a tiny act of love that is!

I got to look at a photo taken of myself and my daughter last night at dinner. Our faces so close together, we really look like almost the same person - only I am 27 years older. She is sober. I am sober. Love? That doesn't begin to describe this.

A friend who was recently injured on his bicycle was surprised that I called to check on him, and that felt like love today.

Yesterday my Ed was 71 years old and I miraculously remembered his birthday and called him. I sang Happy Birthday. He laughed and asked me where I got my singing lessons - I told him I should demand a refund. He said the voice part wasn't so good, but the making him happy was real good.

Oh, there is lots of love in my life. Because of a loving God who took me by the hand and brought me to the rag tag bunch of drunks in Alcoholics Anonymous who were able to understand me the way I had never been understood before. And I was able to give that back and feel useful, truly useful, for probably the first time in my life.

Yeah, if that is what the word "Love" means, I think I really like that rose a lot!