Bouquet

I once received a dozen roses, sweet little buds when they arrived, that all flared into glorious full bloom within a day or two. I had never seen that before - part of the fascination of receiving a bouquet is in watching each flower open at it's own pace and seeing them all, at any given moment, in an entertaining variety of poses. But this particular bouquet became even more astonishing, as all twelve blossoms continued on in unrelenting full bloom day after day after day. Not one of them drooped. Not one petal fell. Eventually they sort of dried out in their vase, looking rather brittle and with a dark tinge at the extremity of each petal, yet still "holding that thought," so to speak - the thought of an utterly perfect bouquet of roses.

So there you have it. That's my plan, too.