Today was a quiet day. Strangely fitting for such a serious holiday. We spent the day watering the garden, playing quietly, napping and taking a short walk. The girls were especially quiet so that Tanner could sleep.

I had planned to search for some sort of event to take the girls to, especially since there is an officers school so close to us, but Reagan ended up taking a 5 hour nap, and when she woke up it was time for Georgie's nap, and when she woke up it was time for dinner. So, nothing came of my grand schemes.

And since Tanner hasn't gotten the barbecue from the attic we didn't even get to grill some chicken and hot dogs.

One thing that Memorial Day does for me is that I begin to think of the rose that we plant every year on June 9th in my parents backyard. This will be the first year that I'm not there to walk around the nurseries in search of the rose with the perfect color, the perfect scent AND the perfect name. As I reflected on this, I wondered what I could do to commemorate that day. Roses grow here, but they take a great deal of effort, and I'm not sure if I'm up to the task. And then it dawned on me. I've been coveting these beautiful bird of Paradise plants that are sprinkled all across CS. So far I've seen four distinct varieties growing here. Of course there is the traditional orange, but they also have white, pink and red, and there is another variety that comes from Argentina with the familiar name of Texas Bird of Paradise. So this year my first bird of paradise will join my red and pink hibiscus.