The Rose

Last week Emma brought me a rose. It is a beautiful, long stemmed yellow rose with orange-tipped edges and is sitting in a vase on my desk at school.

Curious, I asked her why she'd brought me the flower. She responded that her father had given it to her, and she decided to give it to me.

Touched as I was by Emma's gift, I also felt an underlying

sadness. Most girls would have given their mom the flower. But Emma's mother, my friend Gayle, passed away last spring of breast cancer.

Emma has no one to give the rose, so she brought it to me. 

Every time I look at the rose on my desk, I experience mixed emotions. Sadness for Emma's loss, sadness for the loss of my friend, touched that a little girl would bring me such a gift, and then wondering what more I can do to help this child transition to life without her mother.