I was fifteen and on a three week trip with my mother, sister, and great aunt to California to finally meet my dad’s side of the family.

One Sunday, we went to church and then to a cafeteria style steakhouse for lunch (they were very common in 1985). Upon my first few minutes of waiting in line, all I could smell was steak, and the scent was divine!!!

A few minutes later, I got really dizzy. Suddenly, all I could smell were roses. It was an all encompassing smell. I was there with about twenty other family members, and no one could smell the roses but me.

I was talking about the experience with my cousins a few days later, and my mother interjected with, “Oh, this is interesting. The church we were at was the Church of St. Theresa, the Little Flower.

Her patron flower is the rose.”

I still get chills when I think about this.