I know I’m late with this one. I didn’t think I’d have anything for you this week.
Having looked through my recent photo files and found nothing of any real interest, I looked further and further back and found a beautiful photo, but .. for me, Finding Beauty isn’t merely about the physical, but needs to include some wider meaning.
So the day wore on and the time came for us to take Sid out for his second walk, and as I was getting him dressed in his warm coat and finding the lead with the reflective strips, OH suddenly made a dash for the door and disappeared without us. I carried on getting us ready, because I’m kind of used to these odd kicks in his gallop, but when he returned I was truly surprised.
He came through the door bearing that gorgeous bunch of red roses that you see up there.  And he looked worried.
‘I’m sorry!’ he said, as he gave them to me. ‘I’m really sorry, but I can’t leave them in the car, they’ll freeze!’
I took them, I oohed and aaahed, and sniffed deeply. They smelled divine. Pure sweetness, powdery and rich. And I thanked him and kissed him, as you do.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said again.
‘Why are you sorry?’ I asked, bewildered.
‘But it’s not the day!’ he replied.
See, that’s finding beauty, right there. Not only does my lovely husband buy me a huge bunch of fragrant red roses for Valentine’s Day after thirty-two years of being married*, but he frets over getting it right.
The roses are very beautiful, and they’ll give me a lot of pleasure while they last, but the thought behind them is priceless, and even more beautiful than they are.
Does it matter that it’s ‘not the day’? Not at all. It matters that he bought them for me, and that he took the trouble to sniff each and every bunch to make sure he got the scented ones. It matters that he loves me.
There’s really nothing more beautiful than that.
*Oops .. I just realised it’s thirty-three, not thirty-two!
AMEN…I’m one of those weird ones. My husband is fortunate that I’m not really into Valentines Day. I LOVE it when he brings home flowers just because…but I do think it’s sweet that your hubby cares so much…that’s a good sign.
.-= pam´s last blog ..Friday~~~ Finding Beauty =-.
What a sweetie your husband is! The flowers are beautiful! They look almost velvety.
.-= Colleen´s last blog ..You Capture: Work =-.
And my brother thinks Valentine’s Day is just a sham. Your OH bought you flowers because he loves you. The day doesn’t really matter, but it does give us a little push, a little reminder. And no matter what the day, who doesn’t love getting a bunch of beautiful flowers from someone who loves us?
.-= Don’t Bug Me!´s last blog ..Macro Monday Blues =-.
I am new to your blog via Dipity Road and new participating in Finding Beauty.
http://fairfieldhousenj.com/2009/11/27/a-pail-of-perspicacity/
Wow. Looks like you found beauty and had it flourish for 32 years! How sweet that it mattered to him that today is not “the” day. With a love like that everyday is THE day! Enjoy!
Deborah
Me too! I was late. You are so right – thoughts are a beautiful thing and what a sweetheart your hubbie is. 32 years? That’s really beautiful!
Nancy
.-= Nancy´s last blog ..Things I Love =-.
That is a sweet story and the roses are lovely.
.-= Porch Days´s last blog ..Beauty in my Yard =-.
Lovely roses, J. Just lovely.
.-= Tuli´s last blog ..The Monday After Superbowl Sunday =-.
Well, you have me choked up again!! you have a way about doing that it seems.
But you are spot on! Its not the “DAY” it is the thought and the reminissing. *sigh* sooo lovely.
Thank you thank you. Its all in the way we look — its there we just have to LOOK to see
TTFN~~Claudia
.-= Claudia@DipityRoad´s last blog ..Friday ~~ Finding Beauty 2/12/10 =-.
I received my flowers today too! It doesn’t matter to me. I’ll take flowers any old day. They just make things so darn nicer don’t they?
Good for your hubby. Many should take lessons from our guys wouldn’t you say?
Happy Valentine’s Day and FFB.
Love Claudie
xoxo
Oh how sweet! I almost want to cry.. 32 years.It doesn’t matter the day, what counts is the intention. I made a deal with my hubby, to overcome my expectations. we don’t celebrate any holiday, anything. (For mother’s day I didn’t receive anything..and I was truly upset..that I said forget it I don’t want anything, if you feel like doing something nice for me then just do it) and that’s why we aren’t celebrating Valentines. But we will be having dinner with some friends.
so velvety and I love Eucalyptus with them!!
.-= sandy´s last blog ..Camera Critters #97 – Pictures from this past week =-.
Aww that is beautiful. He’s a keepter! Thanks for telling me what that is on the fence post. No idea what that kinda thing is just that I like to take pictures of it hehe. Your furbabies are beautiful I kept looking past this post. Love that picture of them that looks like they’re ‘singing’. Cute all snuggled together too.
.-= jeanne´s last blog ..Friday~~Finding Beauty Feb. 12th =-.
Ohh…..everyday should be Valentines Day…….the roses are beautiful. You get to enjoy them all weekend long. Beauty is hearing about marriage lasting 32 years……wishing you a Happy Valentines Day
.-= Geralyn Gray´s last blog ..Introducing Uptown Charly Brown =-.
I love the colour of those roses! Such a beautiful deep red.
.-= Mara´s last blog ..Wow! =-.
What can I say to that? Beautiful indeed
.-= babs – beetle´s last blog ..Platform disaster! =-.
They are beautiful, happy for you.
.-= Kala´s last blog ..Photos that look like paintings :: 02.12.10 =-.
Happy Valentines Jay. These days I buy my own flowers but it’s too darn hot and they’d just wilt anyway so I grabbed a nice bottle of French Champagne that I shall relish this afternoon. . .
.-= Baino´s last blog ..By Silken Threads We Connect =-.
Oh, Jay, what a beautifully penned testimony to the love you both share. Today is the twentieth year hubby and I have celebrated Valentine’s day together. Since it was such an auspicious occassion, he saw fit to give me a deep fat frier (teehee, so romatic, eh?). but to be fair, he did also write me a lovely poem – smile.
I hope you and he have a wonderful day together – Happy Valentine’s Day hon!
.-= shrinky´s last blog ..The Kindness Of Strangers/Island Life =-.
That is sooooo romantic! You and your OH are a match made in heaven.
Hubs and I aren’t of the romantic kind, so we don’t ‘do’ Valentine’s Day and I’m fine with that. Except for that now I’m just a tiny bit jealous of your gorgeous bunch of beautiful roses.
Have to say that hubs did LOOK at the tulips that were sold at our local supermarket yesterday and ALMOST bought some. In our world that is called progress, hehe.
Hope you and your OH have a wonderful day
.-= carolina´s last blog ..Sleeping beauties in pencil =-.
Everyone – I hope you’ll forgive me for doing a mass ‘answer’ here, but I’m not feeling too good today. Got a bug of some kind.
Thank you all for visiting and leaving such nice comments. I do appreciate each and every one of you!
We haven’t always done Valentine’s Day, but as we get older, we get more sentimental, I guess! Those of you who don’t get the cards and flowers, don’t give up hope! But in the end, it’s not about one special day, is it? It’s about day to day living, and loving.
Just gorgeous!
.-= Mr. Nighttime´s last blog ..Dad. =-.
What fabulous flowers Jay.
.-= ann´s last blog ..SCAM, SCAM AND SCAM AGAIN! =-.
The roses are beautiful but you are right Jay, the true beauty comes with the sentiment. Well done to your OH. Happy Valentines Day to you both. A x
Hi from the depths of several feet of snow! Your hubs is a keeper! Those roses are gorgeous!!
One year my hubs surprised me but our weather was MUCH warmer that February so he was able to keep them in the car overnight. He went out on travel ON Valentine’s Day and left in the wee hours. I woke up and stumbled into the kitchen to find the scent of his love. This year, he re-gifted something that is a joke between us.
Happy Valentine’s Day!!!
xxoo,
Gel
.-= Gel´s last blog ..Music to My Ears =-.
Mr N and Anne – Thank you!
SJ Anne – Thank you! I’ll tell him!
Gel – Oh, how wonderful to walk into the kitchen and be greeted with scented flowers! But I love the idea of regifting a joke gift, too! Humour is very important between OH and I. We share the same sense of humour, and we practise it a lot. Fun, isn’t it?
These are truly gorgeous. I got roses, too, but mine are not quite as…exquisite…as yours. Let me explain. Fred and I had agreed we wouldn’t exchange Valentines. We (read: I) went way overboard on Christmas, and we’re actively saving for retirement. (Read: That old miser is hoarding every penny he can get his hands on.) But he knows how much I love roses, (read: we had a fight, and he knew he was wrong) so he ordered a dozen mixed, in a vase, from a reputable company I’ve used many times. Only he didn’t want to pay the extra charge to have them delivered over Valentine’s Day weekend. (Read: see miser remark above.) So he had them delivered TUESDAY. TUESDAY, you hear? He put the box, hidden, UNOPENED, in the basement, ON TUESDAY, and brought it out on SUNDAY NIGHT. Yeah, Valentine’s NIGHT, for maximum effect, if you know what I mean. Those roses fell out of that box one petal at a time. “Your roses will need water immediately upon arrival,” the instructions said. I salvaged them as best I could. Some have five or six petals, some have three; the red ones seem to have fared best with maybe nine or ten petals remaining. The baby’s breath is pretty, but those roses’ days are numbered.
You did good, Jay. Count yourself lucky, and give your husband a big old kiss from me for his thoughtfulness.
.-= ethelmaepotter´s last blog ..Fresh Veggies in the Snow =-.
EthelMaePotter – Oh, my goodness! You poor thing.
Hahahahahahaha! Sorry, but the way you wrote that was just SO funny! I can just imagine the poor soul thinking he was doing so well, and looking forward to you opening the box, only to find … !
I’ve forwarded this comment to OH to read. He doesn’t always get around to reading the comments and it will give him a lovely warm glow. LOL!
I think you need a hug, too. *HUGS!*
An absolutely gorgeous shot!
My Hubs and I have been married 34 years as of Dec. I told him he need not spend the money last week and told him to bring me some 3.99 bouquet from the grocery. He did that, hid roses in our garage fridge and gave me roses on Valentine’s Day.
Aren’t husbands grand!
.-= Carletta´s last blog ..Ruby Tuesday: Mouthful of Seeds =-.
Carletta – Awww! That’s very sweet. You have one of the good ones too! Excellent! No wonder you’ve kept him for so long!
Those flowers are beautiful!!! And your hubby is definitely a keeper!
.-= meleah rebeccah´s last blog ..Doing Things Differently – My Week In Review [Part Two] =-.
Pah! I am not jealous at all! No, not at all …
.-= liz´s last blog ..Lenten thanks 5 =-.