I took roses from Joe’s casket arrangement and hung them upside down in the garage for 3 weeks. They dried beautifully.
Then I put the dried flowers in a heart-shaped vase done in the “Old Country Roses” pattern. The arrangement looked beautiful and keeping those flowers brought me joy – at that time.
Fast Forward To Today
The arrangement is normally on top of the china cabinet away from this klutz. Today I took down the arrangement while Christmas decorating since it does not fit with what will be up there. Well, the red and yellow roses looked old, tired and dingy. They were also very brittle so after 3 ½ years, into the trash they went.
Putting them in the trash did not bother me because I was doing the right thing. I am taking another step forward in life. Joe lives in a little corner of my heart, not in dried flowers.
The vase is washed and put away. Maybe there will come a time when the heart-shaped vase is filled with first flowers from a new beau – which will bring joy of a different kind.
Bio: Michele Kearns is the founder and HUG© (Hope Unites Globally) Award-Winner of JoyReturns. She shares her widowhood adventures hoping to inspire widows to move through grief and rebuild their lives. A graduate of Kent State University with a Bachelor’s degree in communications, she’s currently using those skills as a virtual logistics contact center representative for a Fortune 100 company. She’s also managed call center teams, co-facilitated a grief support group, and helped small businesses with various writing assignments. Michele is a bookworm, and a lover of history, music, chocolate, red roses, and golden retrievers. She is also the amateur photographer behind the blog OgleOhio.com
JoyReturns 
You don’t need to wait until a new ‘beau’ shows up to put beautiful flowers in the vase – buy some as a gift to yourself !!
I know. But I have other vases to use. This one goes in the hope chest – at least until the Christmas decorations come down. Thanks for taking the time to comment.