Wedding Countdown- 2 Days & Counting ’til Jane & Brian’s Wedding…

A visit from angels through the gifts of flowers…

NanaFlo was the go-to grandmother for baking, cooking, sewing, planning, entertaining, creating… just about anything.  NanaFlo loved to be in charge and she was incredibly good at it. NanaFlo also loved the color yellow and so many of my memories of Flo are wrapped in yellow – her home, her kitchen, her clothing, her flowers.  This is why Barry and I planted yellow roses at our old home… and we beyond-words appreciate the yellow NanaFlo rose bush that Audrey & Matt gave me for Mother’s Day, for our new home.  Barry and I planted the rose bush in our back yard, facing the harbor, where she would have loved to deliver her goodies and then sit and chat and just visit…

NanaFlo lived for her children and grandchildren and then her great-grandchildren… and she truly loved gift-giving and a good party.  Everyone who knew her, knew this.  So it wasn’t a complete surprise to see that NanaFlo had stopped by this morning with a truly lovely gift for Janie & Brian…

… two glorious yellow roses, side by side like a Bride & Groom, dancing in the morning breeze off the harbor.

It is a stunning display of NanaFlo’s handiwork from heaven.  And it just so happens that Jane & Brian’s primary wedding flowers are yellow roses.  But I think NanaFlo knew that all along.

Then there’s the gift from my Dad.  My Dad died before I was married, many, many decades ago.  He left so suddenly from sight, but he has never left in spirit, as an angel.  My Dad would not meet any of his grandchildren, but he always told me that he would spoil the daylights out of any he had.  My Dad has kept his promise from heaven.

My Dad was the kindest man you could meet.  His smile, his eyes, his hugs, his brilliant mind… shining, shining, shining.  One of my most vivid memories of my Dad is the day he came home from a local nursery with a Rose of Sharon.  We had just moved to Rhode Island, and I was 12 years old… a very difficult age to move and begin anew with life.  Ah, adolescence.  The Rose of Sharon was a symbol of permanence in our new home, our new place.  The Rose of Sharon became my favorite flower. I loved that Rose of Sharon and it was difficult to leave it when my Mom sold their home after my Dad died.  But Rhode Island would be my permanence… finding my greatest love and the greatest blessings.

This Mother’s Day, 2012, Barry bought me a Rose of Sharon to plant in our new yard.  He knew what this would mean to me, and the happiness in my heart was indescribable, is indescribable…

What I didn’t know about our new yard back in May is that my Dad had made sure there were plenty of Rose of Sharon bushes to keep my new one company… with branches reaching straight to heaven.  

This morning, right outside our bedroom window, the blooms danced like guests at a Wedding… hundreds of them!  Roses of Sharon to celebrate Jane & Brian’s Wedding, their permanence, their love.  This is my Dad’s Wedding gift to his granddaughter, Jane…

The earth is singing Wedding Songs today from the heavenly gardens, a message of love from the angels who love the Bride, Jane, so very, very much and are so happy with the Groom, Brian~

2 Days!