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Here is Janine’s story:
I live in Southern California and at the first time I experienced this, I was
living in a home with many rose bushes that lined the front left of the house
and around the corner. I never tended to these bushes as we had a gardener that
handled all of that. I hardly paid attention to them except to enjoy the blossoms
as I walked by. There were soooooo many if them and I never noticed that the
season had passed and so had they. As I was sitting at my computer on the
first anniversary of my father’s passing, I decided to make a little shrine
near my monitor. I grabbed my favorite photo of him (taken at the flower show
we went to together in Boston months before he died) and placed it on my desk
along with a candle. I got a bud vase ready with water, grabbed a pair of
scissors and went outside to get a rose. OMG there were NO roses. I walked around
the corner and again NO roses. I was crying soooooooooo hard at this point. I
went back inside, looked at his picture, and told him I loved him. It was the
saddest day as I had a zillion roses the last I had noticed. I told my husband
why I was crying and then I got a chill all over my body. It was strange but I
felt a presence and of course decided it must be my father. For some reason,
I went back outside and again no Roses. Then I turned the corner and saw the
biggest most perfect yellow (his favorite) rose I had ever seen! OMG I just
knew he sent it for me. I put it in the vase right next to his picture. Ever
since that day, the same kind of things have been happening when it is the
anniversary of his death or just when I think of him, the sign will be there.
The single rose happened again the next year but this time it was in the back
yard. Very cool. Well? I kept seeing roses at the strangest times. I don’t know
if it is possible that daddy puts them there but I sure do love the thought of
that. Years ago my father visited us in California and he planted a rose garden
of three bushes for the rented apartment building we were in (they are still
there after 23 years). I have been looking at a picture of my daughter on a pony
in front of those bushes for years and years thinking it was such a perfect
picture of her. I even had the picture blown up to be 11x13. I saw the picture
no less then 100 times and it wasn’t until after that daddy died that one day
I noticed a single red rose from his bushes right next to my daughter’s arm.
OMG I couldn’t believe that I had never noticed it before. My son is here
visiting now and I was telling his wife of the rose sightings when I think
of my father and the chills that I get and decided to take a ride to the old
neighborhood where he had planted the 3 bushes. OMG sure enough (January 1, 2007)
there was a single rose bud that was half way open and one on its way. Now I
know that they will grow no matter what but I think it is strange that every
time I go to those bushes when I am thinking of daddy and no matter what time
of year, there is always a rose for me to see. When it is the anniversary of
his death, a single rose will be there for me to look at and feel him with me.
I do not pick the rose as it doesn’t belong to me but I cherish it from afar.
Do you think it is possible that he somehow makes them there when I need them?
I can honestly tell you on his first anniversary that there was NO rose until
I felt that chill. Thanks for listening.
P.S. On father's day 2007, I went to the house where I used to live and found
one red rose out of five bushes fully bloomed. Once again, he comes through.