She's just so "high maintenance" you know.

As the life of a flower,
As a breath or a sigh,
So the years that we live
As a dream hasten by.
True, today we are here,
But tomorrow must leave--
Just a grave in the vale
And a memory of me.

Chorus: As the life of a flower,
As a breath or a sigh,
So the years glide away
And, alas, we must die.

The above song is an old hymn that was one of my Grandpa Wright's favorites. You never hear it anymore because it's one of those early 1900 american hymns that contained lyrics and ideas of a different generation. In other words, people our age stopped singing hymns about dying. Mom sang this song to me this week. Why? Because her roses had started to wilt.

For mother's day, we gave Mom a bouquet of beautiful red roses. Mom deserves a bouquet of flowers on most special days so I add those to my grocery list. In Texas, if you go to the grocery store on any average friday afternoon, you will see several men dressed in their wrangler jeans, big belt buckles and cowboy hats buying a bouquet of roses for their sweetheart. I doubt if they are buying them for any special occasion at all. It's just the weekend and they want to let her know that she is special. I expect to be given flowers for this reason too. I also believe that I deserve manicures, pedicures and massages. I expect to be taken out to eat whenever I want. Women of Mom's generation didn't expect things like this. On valentines day, Mom was given one simple rose with baby's breathe. She didn't expect to get it and it didn't happen every year. Some years, she didn't get anything! She didn't throw a fit and think she wasn't loved. They just said "Happy Valentines day" to each other and that was that. Let's face it ladies, our generation expects flowers, jewelry, chocolate and a date all at once! When I mention to Mom that I'm going out to dinner, or to a spa, my Mom just sighs and shakes her head, stating sadly to her elderly friends "she's just so high maintenance you know". They all shake their heads sadly in agreement. Where did they learn that modern term? I guess from watching TV like everyone else.