Recently during a  thunderstorm with high winds,  my son came in the house and told me about  a rose bush in our yard.  He said, ‘You should go see it.  All the roses are gone except this one really amazing bloom.  You should go take a picture.”

When I got outside, it was still raining and even though my son had told me the condition of the bush, I was still surprised by what I saw; a single beautiful red rose blooming in all her glory.  It stood in the wind and the rain and despite the fact that the ground and the bush were covered in rose petals from every other rose that had been on the bush it alone bloomed on.  This one single bloom had defied the wind and rain beautifully.

Perhaps it was a tad maudlin of me, but the rose seemed to have such heart and vibrancy, I just stood there and stared.  I was captivated.  I thought, ‘Some things can outlast the storm and transcend despite the difficulty.’  My throat tightened a bit and  I kept snapping photos.

 I stood in the garden sheltering my lens from the raindrops that pelted my back and head.  I thought I  heard the rose whisper;  “Weather the storm and bloom on.” — Laura