It wasn’t the grand gestures that held us together through distance — it was the ordinary things. A photo of a flower spotted on the walk home. A leaf catching light just right. A simple message that said nothing and everything all at once: “This made me think of you.” Those small exchanges — quiet, fleeting, and tender — became our love’s thread. A garden we tended across screens and miles, rooted in noticing, in beauty, in the gentle rhythm of thoughtfulness that never needed to be spoken aloud.
“When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it’s your world for the moment.”
— Georgia O’Keeffe
When my partner and I were long-distance, we had all the usual digital tools to keep us close — texts, calls, video chats, the endless scroll of daily updates. But what surprised me most was that connection didn’t just grow through words. It bloomed through images.
“Love is the flower you’ve got to let grow.”
— John Lennon
Since early on in our relationship, we started sending each other photos of flowers and plants we encountered in our separate worlds. A roadside bloom. A wild vine curling over a wall. A single bright leaf against a dull day. At first, it didn’t seem like much — just a small, quiet way of saying, I’m thinking of you.
But somehow, this tiny ritual rooted itself in us. It became a kind of love language.
“The earth laughs in flowers.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
Years later, even though we’re no longer separated by distance, we still do it. When one of us travels or simply takes a walk alone, a photo of a flower often finds its way to the other’s inbox. It’s no longer just a picture — it’s a reminder. Of presence. Of care. Of how something as simple as noticing beauty can bridge the spaces between us.
We often joke about making a book one day — pages filled with all those flowers, broken up by snippets of our messages. Just a few words, a photo or two, and the story of us — unfolding in petals, seasons, and distance made tender.
“Where flowers bloom, so does hope.”
— Lady Bird Johnson
What I love most is how ordinary it all is. No grand gestures. No perfect angles. Just a shared lens through which the world looks softer, kinder, and a little more connected.
Sometimes love doesn’t need to shout.
It just needs to notice.
“Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.”
— Luke 12:27
“As the fragrance remains in the hands that give flowers, so does love remain in the heart that gives kindness.”
— A Sanskrit proverb (Hindu tradition)
Well-Stirred & Wondering 
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