Better to Give than to Receive
When a special occasion arrives, a gift often finds its way to a doorstep or an office desk. But once in a while, a present arrives at an unexpected moment as a reminder that someone is thinking about us.
Wanda Anderson remembers such a gift.
The rosebushes were finally in full bloom that day. Seeing roses always brings to mind Wanda's childhood memories. To this young girl, those flowers were a luxury. "We never had money to buy extra things, so even a tired rose was something to cherish," Wanda said.
Nowadays, to have a backyard filled with many different roses is pure enjoyment. Wanda especially loves the very first blooms. Her husband, Dale, devotedly tends the roses and knows this little fact about his wife. So, on this particular morning, he picked the very first flowers of spring, fresh from the garden, just for Wanda.
But as Dale came back, he was met by a neighbor who had dropped by. As the woman turned to go, Dale graciously (有风度地)handed the roses to her. Even though their visitor insisted she didn't want to take them, she was repeatedly assured that the flowers were hers to keep.
“I told her I was happy for her to keep them, but I really wasn't," Wanda said, recalling the emotions she was feeling right then. Seeing her very precious first blooms go out of the door filled her with regret.
Throughout the rest of the morning, Wanda argued with herself, knowing logically it was “better to give than to receive. Nevertheless, she wished she could have kept the roses for herself.
Later that day, the couple just arrived at the post office, where they were about to park the car.
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Then, without warning, a bunch of multi-coloured roses appeared at the car's window.
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For the rest of the day, she was happy and moved.
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