Roses and Rainbows

I love my birthday every year for a lot of reasons, but one in particular has to do with something my mom does for me. Each year Mom sends me flowers, and in the middle of the mixed bouquet is a single red rose. The story behind the single red rose goes like this…

I was born on September 30th, right around the time in Ohio when the first frost is about to hit. When my mom went into the hospital in labor, the sun was still warm and no frost yet. However, when she came home, the first frost had arrived and killed all of the flowers that were still left from summer. All except for one perfect red rose on a bush by our house. So, in that tradition, every year my mom sends me those flowers with the one single perfect red rose to symbolize that for me. I love that story.

So, now you’re wondering, where does the rainbow come into play here?? Well, the same exact day (February 11th) that we got our first approval, the pre-approval, from the Chinese government…the first time we could take one deep sigh of relief…was the same day here in Columbus that a double rainbow graced our skies. It was so beautiful and such a big deal that even some of the news on the radio was mentioning it as they talked about the traffic on my drive home from work. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get home and get the camera out quick enough to capture it, however I was talking to my mom last weekend and saw that she had a picture of it in her phone, so I asked that she send it to me to include in this blog.

I’m so glad to have this photo and be able to pass this story on to Mali. I know that my single red rose story has meant a lot to me, has made me feel special over the years…and I hope we can use rainbows as one way to symbolize our love for Mali over the years as well. I have always loved and felt a strong connection to nature…seeing its beauty everywhere. I hope to pass this appreciation on to Mali and I also hope that whenever she is lucky enough to see a rainbow in the sky…she’ll be reminded of how special she is and how much she is loved.