White Birthday Roses in Canada

by Alan
(Toronto, Canada)

Birthdays are usually very simple in my family. One tradition to everyone in my family is that on the day of their birthday, they get to decide what will be served for supper ... and they do not have to cook it.

This is a tradition that comes from my Mom's side of the family. Her own mother was a stay-at-home mom who took great pride in putting together a really incredible birthday meal, despite the fact that they did not have much money to spare growing up.

My grandmother made her childrens' birthdays special by picking fresh white roses from her garden and putting them on the table for the birthday supper. Mom remembers they were so beautiful that they made everything just perfect!

It was fortunate that all the children were born during the summer months and could enjoy Grandmother's white roses. Then one year, the summer was unusually cold and the roses didn't bloom. My grandmother was very sad, and as her own birthday came around, she became even sadder, since she loved nothing more then to go outside and smell her roses first thing in the morning on her birthday.

When Grandmother's birthday was just a day away, Mom took the money she had been saving up for a new toy, and went to the florists. There, she bought beautiful white roses that had been shipped in from warmer parts of the country. She gave them to my grandmother on the morning of her birthday. It was the happiest she had ever seen her.