The taste of pink

My husband and I don't exchange gifts for holidays. I don't like the way that holidays can make people feel obligated to buy something: it seems like a gift should be freely given. I don't want to my family to get sucked into the evil cycle of consumerism, and gifts too often are thing that people don't need or want.

But I make an exception for fresh flowers. My husband has given me flowers, sometimes on birthdays or holidays, but sometimes for no reason at all, for over thirty years now. Sometimes he'll bring home bright yellow or purple flowers on a grey winter day, or sometimes he'll bring long-stemmed roses with ferns and baby's breath.

I like roses best after they've begun to wilt, and I can scatter the petals across the bed.