Everlasting Rose, Everlasting Love!

There are many, many ways in which I love you,
As many ways as there are me’s and you’s:
Some pure, some not so pure, some hard above you,
Some soft and sweet below, some–well, you choose!
We’re animal and human and divine
All wrapped in one confused and messed-up ball.
I think sometimes with me it would be fine
If God would just decide to chuck it all.
But see the varied avenues of pleasure
Our multi-layered beings can enjoy!
Your flesh and heart equally I treasure
With all the pent-up anguish of a boy.
I long for both your body and your face;
I need both warmth and heat in your embrace.

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I imagine the hour for which you pledged your troth has arrived. There
is much merry-making among your young friends, but there is an undertone of sadness in all the house.

Your choice may have been the gladdest and the best, and the joy of the whole round of relatives, but when a young eaglet is about to leave the old nest, and is preparing to put out into sunshine and storm for itself, it feels its wings tremble somewhat.

So she has a good cry before leaving home, and at the marriage father and mother always cry, or feel like it.

If you think it is easy to give up a daughter in marriage, though it be with brightest prospects, you will think differently when the day comes.

To have all along watched her from infancy to girlhood, and from girlhood to womanhood, studious of her welfare, her slightest illness an anxiety, and her presence in your home an ever-increasing joy, and then have her go away to some other home–all the redolence of orange-blossoms, and all the chime of marriage bells, and all the rolling of wedding march in full diapason, and all the hilarious congratulations of your friends cannot make you forget that you are suffering a loss irreparable.

But you know it is all right, and you have a remembrance of an embarkation just like it twenty-five or thirty years ago, in which you were one of the parties; and, suppressing as far as possible your sadness, you say, “Good-bye.”

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Today, the world never owned such opulence of womanly character or such splendor of womanly manners or multitudinous instances of wifely, motherly, daughterly, sisterly devotion, as it owns today. I have no words to express my admiration for good womanhood. Woman is not only man’s equal, but in affectionate and religious nature, which is the best part of us.

However, as you may see, nowadays it is easier for a man to find an appropriate wife than for a woman to find a good husband. According to a New York Times analysis of census results, in 2005, 51 percent of women said they were living without a spouse, up from 35 percent in 1950 and 49 percent in 2000.

There are multitudes, who have never been married and still greater multitudes, who got married but change back to be single. Marriage has become a difficult business, especially for women.

First, it is a matter of arithmetic. Statistics show that globally even there are about 105-107 boys born for every 100 girls, yet after the age of 40 women outnumber men. In 2003, the Census Bureau estimated a total of 144,513,361 females of all ages, compared to 138,396,524 males in the US.

It would seem women are a favorite with the Lord, and therefore He has made woman kind live longer and stronger. By mathematical and inexorable law, you see, millions of women will never marry.

The second reason lies in the shortage of good husbands. There are thousands of men who have no right to marry, because they have become so corrupt of character that their offer of marriage is an insult to any good woman.

Third, during the last 40 years, through the increased opportunity opened for female through education, in many countries, women are receiving better and higher education.

Based on 1971 census, 68% of 25-to-29-year-old university graduates were male. Ten years later, women had more or less caught up to men as only 54% of graduates were male. By 1991, women had become the slight majority, comprising 51% of graduates. In the 2001 census, universities had clearly become the domain of women, as they made up 58% of all graduates.

If woman continue to advance in mentality at the present ratio, before long many men may have difficulty in finding a woman who is ignorance to make appropriate consort.

And, this has become a global issue. In Europe, England, Japan, China, more and more woman find out marriage is becoming a difficult business for them. Facing such global matrimonial unbalance between men and women, what will you do?

Here are 7 Tips for single woman from people who have a happy and long-term marriage. Click here to get your FREE copy!

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Over the past 25 years, we have studied successful marriage in the United States and around the world.

In our soon-to-be-released book entitled Golden Anniversaries: The Seven Secrets of Successful Marriage, we describe the seven pervasive characteristics present in all successful marriages – and we would dare say, in all successful and loving relationships between two people.

We often use the notion of “learning to dance” as a way of describing these relationships. Dance becomes sort of a metaphor for successful love.

You have probably heard the expression, “It takes two to Tango.” When we were in Buenos Aires, Argentina a couple of years ago, this point was really driven home to us as we watched the Tango dancers perform on the streets. Tango dancing is exotic, breathtaking, sexy, exhilarating, entertaining, heart-pumping, and just plain fun. But here is one absolute fact – you cannot do the Tango by yourself! It does, indeed, take two to Tango.

The characteristics we describe in our book are a pervasive part of who loving couples are together as if describing the steps of a well-choreographed dance. Successful couples have learned, practiced and committed these characteristics to memory. It is like watching a pair of ice dancers gliding through a perfectly executed triple jump—they are beautiful skaters individually, but magnificent when together.

On the other hand, failed marriages and failed relationships are like dancing in the dark without knowing the steps. The steps appear to be easy at first, but tragically, divorce statistics tell us that half of all married couples never learn to dance. Instead, they stumble and fall until they eventually give up and quit dancing altogether. If they had learned to make the seven characteristics part of the fabric of their marriage, the fabric of their loving relationship, they could have learned the dance of lasting love.

If you want to achieve a lasting love, first learn and understand the seven characteristics present in all successful relationships. You will have to read our book to know what they are! In the meantime you might want to read these two articles we posted earlier on www.SelfGrowth.com called What Makes Relationships Last and How Will I Know I Am In Love.

Then accept the commitment to practice each of the characteristics everyday of your loving relationship. While the seven characteristics might seem simple at first glance, successful couples describe the hard work it takes to make each of the characteristics habitual and pervasive in their relationship.

Learning to dance is fun, but it is also hard work. It takes commitment to perfect the moves. Remember, successful relationships are, more than anything, an accumulation of the little things. To use the Tango dance as an example, in a holistic sense it is beautiful to watch, but the beauty of the dance is made possible because those doing the dance did the little things – they learn the steps, and they practiced a lot!

Whether the beat of your loving relationship is a Tango, Salsa, Swing, Waltz, or the Texas Two-Step, when each of these seven characteristics describes your dance together, you will have achieved a successful loving relationship with another person. You will then be well on your way to achieving a long-lasting love like the successful couples we have interviewed over the years who celebrated their Golden Anniversaries together.

Love is like learning to dance. Learn how today. And as a good friend of ours in Texas likes to say, “You meet a lot of nice people when you go dancing!”

By Dr. Charles D. Schmitz and Dr. Elizabeth Schmitz —”the marriage doctors”
www.GoldenAnniversaries.com

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The art of planting roses doesn’t have to be a complicated thing to do. When you have the right knowledge there is no limit to how beautiful a garden or rosebush that you can create.

Now you will have all of the beauty and delicious fragrance that roses can give you with you all the time.

Here are some of the best ideas and tips for planting your roses.

1. Talk with your local gardening center or florist to find out which are the best type of roses to grow in your climate. If you are a novice, look for disease resistant types of roses because they need a lot less maintenance.

2. Roses come in three types of packaging.
- Plantable box
- Packaged
- Potted or Container

Which packaging you choose is based on your garden needs. You will find boxed and packaged roses are better to tackle earlier in the season. Potted roses are available when the weather becomes a little warmer and so better for later planting. Follow these easy instructions on how to plant your Roses. If you can dig a hole, you can plant a Rose and water with your hose reel.

3. When planting roses, pick a place that is well lit in the morning. You also want a spot that has sunlight for a minimum of 6 hours a day. Roses need a great deal of light to grow properly.

4. Choose an area with well drained soil. Great soil has a PH level at about 5.5-7.0. Testing kits are inexpensive and available at any garden center.

5. Carefully take your rosebush from the container. Soak the roots in water for 8 to 10 hours. Remove any broken or injured roots or canes, and canes less than pencil-size in thickness.

6. Prepare your rose bed by spading deep. Spading is simply digging a hole with a flat head shovel. For each plant dig a hole approximately 14 - 20″ wide and deep depending on the size. Add organic matter and mix well with the existing soil. Organic matter is usually in the form of manure, shredded leaves, or peat moss (shredded leaves are cheapest if you can collect and store them yourself). If not, your nearest nursery or farm will have the next best thing.

7. Fill the bottom of the hole with a cone of soil to rest the roots on and position the bud union at about ground level. Position the rose on soil pyramid so the bud union (swelling at the stem base) is just above the ground level. In climates where the winter temperature falls below 0°F, it is best to position the rose 1″ to 2″ inches lower.

8. Fill the hole half way with soil and water. Wait for the water to filter down and fill the hole with the remaining soil. This process ensures complete root coverage with no air pockets. Do not tramp down the soil. Poor circulation for your roses can cause fungal diseases. Using a larger hole also makes it easier for you to pull them up later and pot them if you’d like. After the water drains check to see if the bud union remains at the proper level. Fill the remainder of the hole with soil.

9. Water your plants frequently for the first 3-4 weeks after planting your roses. Usually this is when the top 2 inches of soil is dry. To stay healthy your roses need a lot of hydration and food.

10. Four weeks after planting, you should start soaking the bed every 2 weeks or so. Do this in the morning for the best results.

11. Start to fertilize about 3 months after planting. Use 3-6 inches of mulch to control the moisture, temperature, and to stops weeds from popping up. Mulch also helps to lock in the vital nutrients your roses need in order to remain healthy.

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