Love Those Roses!

I am normally giddy with anticipation on New Year's Eve.  I know that when I wake in the morning I will get to watch the Tournament of Roses Parade!  Alas, I will be forced to wait an extra day this year.

Roses have always had a way of making me sentimental.  The first perfume I ever wore was rose scented.  Rose is the flower for June babies such as myself.  I enjoy growing roses in my garden (although I have not been so successful here in Colorado!).  To seal the deal I was privileged to be a "Petal Pusher", not once, but twice! 

I remember it rained both years.  The float barn is so cold!  There are supervisors running around making certain that we are busily buzzing around the floats; time is ticking!  When our shift is over we are sore, tired,  frozen, and there is glue everywhere! All I want to know is....when can we do it again?
Then the big day arrives.  We gather before dawn at the prearranged spot on Colorado Blvd with cameras in hand. 

The parade begins and it NEVER disappoints!  The queen and her court are so lovely.  The bands are incredible.  The horses are beautiful.  The floats are magnificent!  Here comes the float we worked on.  We cheer wildly as it passes, pointing to the sections each of us decorated.  Too soon the parade is over.  Shall we go to the park where the floats are on display after the parade?  Maybe later.  The consensus is to make a Tommy Burger run!

Traditions make life so special.  I still watch the Rose Parade on TV (sometimes twice), squealing like a child on Christmas morning as I recognize bands, equestrian groups and city sponsored floats.  I have a not-so-secret dream of a family reunion trip to Pasadena; my children, their spouses and our grandchildren.  We celebrate Christmas at my Dad's house, spend a couple days working on floats, camp out overnight on Colorado Blvd and see our handiwork up close as it motors past us.  I have it all planned out!

This year I will have to settle for watching it on my big screen TV, but it won't diminish my excitement.  There is a whole new year ahead of me. I can't imagine starting it any other way.  I hope you'll join me. Pasadena, here I come!