Red Roses

My wedding corsage, sat and dried in it's original box for many, MANY years. Too soon, May of 1976, bicentennial year, rolled around and you were graduating from high school. Someone sent you red, white and blue flowers in this glass "liberty bell" container. Those flowers withered and were thrown away, but the bell was put up on a shelf, saved, and mainly forgotten. Some years ago, I don't remember exactly when, the dried flower corsage found the "bell" to be a perfect home. Keeping a flower from a bouquet as a memento of weddings, funerals and other special occasions was something my Mom always did. We have all done it at some time or other, I suppose. Mom would place her flower between waxpaper and lay it between the pages of a heavy book to dry. Eventually, it would be put into an envelope and labeled. I suppose this corsage may disintegrate, given another 50 years, but today, it is mainly intact, with memories of my wedding day coming to mind each time I look at it. Its home is the curio end table in the guest bedroom. I wonder what became of Mom's mementos ??