A rose is not just a rose

I received a phone call the other day from a friend I hadn't spoken to in quite a while. She told me that her grandmother had passed away. I listened as she shared some special memories of times spent with her grandparents. What treasures those memories are! It seems her grandmother had a climbing rose bush beside her house that was very special to their family. Apparently, over the years most everyone in the family had their picture taken beside that rose. Now the house is to be sold and they want to divide the rose so that they can each have a start in their own yard. I gave my friend some practical advice about how to divide the rose. I'm sending up a special prayer to my garden angels that the rose will survive. For that matter, I hope the family survives the dividing of the rose bush! Moving those old climbers is like wrestling a bear. My Granny has one growing by her porch and I've pruned it a time or two for her. I asked her one year if I could have a start of it. Of course she said yes and I lovingly dug up a start and planted it along my fence. Several years have passed and that blasted rose is the bane of my existance! I hate it. It's only saving grace was that it came from Granny's yard. She asked me about it last summer and I told her how the old thing came up everywhere. It spreads under ground and you can't pull it up without looking like you've been attacked by a gang of alley cats. She laughed and laughed and said , 'I've hated that damn thing since the year I planted it'! So much for sentimental value! But it's the memories we cherish, isn't it? I remember Granny's rose from when I was little. It's little pink flowers were so dainty. Not anything like the unruly old gal she's become....the rose bush, not my Granny!
We had a little false start on Spring here in Indiana. After a few days of high 60's and 70's the temperatures dropped and now it's been raining....you know, that cold drizzly rain. I'm hearing from the weather man that it supposed to stop raining and warm up over the next week or so. I have a big project to work on at the elementary school garden so hopefully the weather man is right this time.