It was the best of times it was the worst of times. It was a flower shop that my mother, sister, and I once owned in Southern California. Sounds fun, huh? We thought so too.
I mean, who doesn't like flowers? Who doesn't want a flower delivery from a loved one? Big surprises were in store for us.
We loved working with the flowers, going to market, making each arrangement unique and special and it smells wonderful all the time. What we didn't expect is the human emotion that flowers can represent. Mother's Day was just about the worst; everyone goes all out on Valentine's but when it came to celebrating mothers it was always, "What can I get for $15?" Numerous times we had mothers that would refuse flowers from their family because, "I haven't talked to them in (fill in amount of time), I don't want any flowers from them!" Do you know how awkward it is to call the person who ordered them and say "Sorry, but your mother wouldn't accept the flowers"? Another awkward situation - wife calls and says she was charged on a credit card for flowers she never received. A call to the husband - who ordered the flowers - and you find out the flowers weren't for his wife. Hmmmm. "You call her back - no you!" Weddings were always real high stress too since the flowers have to be done within a day or two of the wedding and sometimes the weather would run afoul and ruin a crop of flowers that the bride had her heart set on. I'll tell ya, it was always something.
It was still a great learning experience - but not one I'd like to repeat.
