Time is a funny thing.
We think we have so much of it…
until we realise just how precious it really is.
My beautiful mum now lives in a nursing home.
Life looks a little different these days.
And yet, she fills my world with so much joy.
Her favourite line…
“It’s a good life.”
She says it often.
As if it’s the simplest truth in the world.
She has always been like that.
Always positive. Always happy.
The kind of person who will talk to anyone.
I once timed her in a lift…
three seconds.
That’s all it took for her to start a conversation.
That’s my mum.
One of the most beautiful things about where she lives now
is the gardens that surround her.
There are roses everywhere.
And she loves being out there…
walking slowly, taking it all in.
We wander together.
Sometimes we talk.
Sometimes we don’t.
But there’s something about being in the garden…
the fresh air, the softness, the scent of the roses…
it gives us a place to just be.
To share time, without needing anything more.
I’ll be bringing a rose to her this Mother’s Day.
A Guardian Angel rose.
Not just for Mum…
but for the garden that holds her now.
For the place that has cared for her so beautifully,
and for the people who look after her each day
with such quiet kindness.
I’ve fallen in love with this rose.
Soft and abundant,
blooming so generously…
and the scent… just beautiful.
It feels like something special to give.
Something to plant in the garden,
to grow over time…
to be noticed, spoken about, enjoyed.
A small offering,
for everything they give.
And I have a feeling…
it may not be the only one.
I fall in love with so many roses.
They might just end up with a garden full of them, on top of what they already have!
I have a feeling…
I might end up being known as the crazy rose lady.
I’m already known as the crazy cat lady…
so really, it’s not too far off.
But what a beautiful thing to be known for.
Something to talk about.
Something to walk towards.
Something to stop and admire.
For Mum and I…
and for my sister, Chiara, who is just as obsessed with roses as I am.
It becomes a starting point.
A gentle conversation.
A shared moment.
Just like Mum…
who has always been so good at talking to anyone.
I can’t wait to wander the gardens with her
and see it there… growing among the others.
A rose for her.
For us.
And for everyone who finds a moment in that space.
“It’s a good life,” she says.
And standing beside her,
among the roses…
I know exactly what she means.
For the ones who gave us everything…
a moment together,
and something gently growing beside us… is more than enough.
