Rose Bud Day 6, Birthday Wishes, and More

I'm very late in posting my POTD today. What a day it was! First though, I wanted to thank all of you for your wonderful, supportive words about our teachers' strike. I had shared the link to yesterday's post with our teachers, and they told me today that seeing your words meant a great deal to them. Unfortunately, the talks have broken down for the night, and at this point, although they're scheduled to resume tomorrow, the union president isn't hopeful and the strike is expected to extend into next week.  Not the news we wanted...

In the meantime, we had much sunnier, warmer weather today, and the effect on my little rose bud was incredible! It's now fully open, and no doubt on its quick and unfortunate decline. Hard to believe this is the same flower I shot yesterday! There are plenty more buds on the bush, though, so we'll be seeing lots more buds in the coming weeks and months (although I may take a break from shooting them for a while - LOL!).

Also today, I was the "victim" of my very first surprise party! I'd had plans to meet a friend for lunch today for my birthday, and because of the strike we decided to take our daughters with us. Imagine my surprise when we walked into Farrell's and I found 20 people there to celebrate with us!  I was beyond shocked, and can't believe how wonderful and generous my friends were to make this birthday so special!