Man Plants Flowers for His Wife after Loss of Their Son, ‘I Wanted Her to Smile for a Minute’ — Story of the Day

When Bob & Olivia lost their son, Jack, they were devastated. Olivia fell into severe depression. Bob did everything he could to make her smile again, and one day they were given a beautiful blessing.

Many years ago, Bob & Olivia met in college. Olivia studied botany while Bob was studying finance. It was love at first sight for the pair as Bob spotted Olivia planting flowers in a park. They quickly became inseparable. After graduating, the couple married and decided they wanted to start a family together.

As years went by, they began to worry that they would never conceive and even considered alternative methods. “However long it takes, as long as it’s with you,” Bob told Olivia. After 18 years together, Olivia finally gave birth to a baby boy. They named him Jack. The couple radiated joy.

Bob and Olivia had become successful in their respective careers, but Jack was their pride and joy. Upon returning from the hospital, Olivia immediately tended to their garden. She planted a bed of white hydrangea flowers.

“These are the flowers that I was planting when we first met. This will represent our undying love,” Olivia told Bob. Every year from around early Spring, the flowers blossomed. 20 years later, when Jack married his high school sweetheart, Georgina, their wedding was decorated with the same flowers.

Jack soon enlisted in the U.S. Navy. While Bob and Olivia were scared, they always supported their son through anything he chose to do. Tragically, shortly after he was deployed, Jack passed away. Bob felt guilty that he didn’t stop his son from taking on such a difficult task.

“I’m still grateful that we got to spend that short time with Jack, but my boy has been taken too soon,” Bob said at his son’s funeral. Bob’s company gave him time off from work to cope with the loss. He visited Jack’s grave every weekend. Georgina was left alone and moved in with her parents-in-law to cope with the grief.

For weeks she struggled to eat and felt ill constantly. Olivia was hit the hardest and immediately fell into a severe depression. Her depression quickly evolved into a neurological condition. She felt her pain so deeply that she couldn’t walk anymore. Olivia became bedridden and wouldn’t leave her bedroom.

“Come on, you at least have to try and eat something,” Georgina offered.

Olivia could barely stomach soup and bread, and Georgina became somewhat of a caretaker for her. Olivia’s garden quickly wilted away without her care, and the hydrangeas were withering as well with spring approaching.

The family was struck by Jack’s loss, and Bob began to worry that they would never heal. He decided that he would have to start small, with a simple gesture that might make Olivia crack a smile. Bob studied Olivia’s botany notes and tended to her garden.

Bob and Georgina made it their secret...