IN THE GARDEN OF HUMAN EXPERIENCE, most acquaintances are merely drifting seedscarried by the winds of convenience and scattered across the shallow soil of polite conversation.

Now, our friendship stands in full efflorescence. It is not a static beauty, but a living, vibrant entity that continues to offer shade in the heat of adversity and fragrance in the mundanity of the everyday. Like the most precious of flora, it reminds us that while flowers may be delicate, a friendship grown with deliberation is the hardiest thing in the world.