"Gardenias"

Most women enjoy receiving roses or carnations from their man. A dozen red roses delivered to their job in front of everyone just because it's Monday. Me, I'll be honest I have never gotten flowers of any kind sent to me. It didn't matter if it was Valentine's Day or my birthday let alone just because. I'm not one for roses anyway, but it's the thoughtfulness of the idea that matters I guess. It's sweet and let's a woman know that she is appreciated and loved by the sender.

One of my favorite scenes from a movie is that between Billy Dee Williams and Diana Ross in "Lady Sings the Blues". When Louis McKay(Williams) sends Billie Holiday (Ross) a small box with a gardenia inside. Coming from a place where the only person that ever truly loved her was her mother, the gesture showed her there were feelings there she'd never been exposed to. Billie Holiday's signature became the gardenia she always wore in her hair while performing. Anyone can send a rose, a pink rose, a red rose, even a yellow rose; it doesn't matter the color in the end a rose is universal for "I Love You". Gardenias are seasonal flowers and usually only grow in warm humid climates. Once cut from the root, the gardenia can only survive a short time before withering and dying. Unlike a rose or a lily you can't just stop by your local Schnucks and grab a bouquet. I told myself that the man who finds a way to get me just ONE living and beautiful gardenia is worth the time and effort he took to find that flower. He will most certainly be well worth the love that he would be exposed to from me.