roses that i’d received as a gift. pink is my favorite color so i loved how the big pink rose was arranged in the center here.
isn’t it interesting how little messages come to you during the most random moments?
i was cleaning out my flower vases when i realized that the roses in one vase still looked great, but the roses in the other vase were clearly ready to be tossed.
back in april, i received a beautiful arrangement of pink and red roses, and i truly adored them.
however, they only lasted about two weeks.
now, idk how long roses typically last. i just replace them with a fresh bouquet when they start looking really bad, lol.
but a few weeks later i received a single red rose as well that i ended up adding to the bouquet i’d bought for myself.
…and that one only lasted about a week.
so as i was preparing to change the water in one vase and throw out the old ones in the other, i realized that the original bouquet i’d bought for myself at the beginning of april was still going strong.
and that’s when it hit me—the amount of love, romance, gifts, time, attention, and all the other things you give to yourself will far outlast that of which you’ll receive from someone else.
the things you receive from other people may leave when they leave, but what you give to yourself will always be there. what other’s give may look nice on the outside, hence the variation of the arrangement in the first pic, but the quality, the foundation of the inside may not always last.
so, regardless of who provides what for you, always nurture and care for yourself first.
because the things other people give may come with limits and expectations, but the ways in which you care for yourself are unconditional and never transactional.
don’t ever stop giving to yourself, and don’t rely solely on what you may receive from others. because the love, softness, patience and attention you give to yourself is guaranteed and will outlast what anyone else will ever give to you.
reflectively,
AD
If my words have lingered with you, or you feel compelled to leave a note—or a rose of appreciation—you may reach me here.
Thank you for reading, and for crossing into the world of Romance & Reality.
Romance & Reality 
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