Flowers for the ladies

Flowers are something that I have always tried to give to the important women in my life for as long as I can remember. I think that I learned that from my grand-father. When I would visit with my grandparents I would spend the day outside with my grandfather, helping him with his chores. When it was time to go inside to eat dinner, he would always take a minute to go out to the cutting garden and gather a fresh bouquet of flowers to take inside to grandma. When he got inside the mud room door he would kick off his muddy boots (instructing me to do the same) and wash his hands and face at the laundry tub before going into the house. He would always sweep my grandma into a back-bending hug and kiss her on the cheek and present the bouquet of flowers with a grand flourish and say “Fresh picked flowers for the love of my life.” Grandma would always pretend to fuss at him for messing up her hair, but I could see the corners of her mouth fighting a smile while she fussed at him. She would put the bouquet of flowers in a vase in the middle of the dinner table and then we would help grandma set the table for dinner.

Those are good memories, and I try to keep those memories alive by having my own cutting garden to be able to pick fresh flowers before going inside to greet my wife for the evening. And cut flowers are my favorite gift of choice for birthdays and other special occasions. When I find that I cannot give someone a gift from my own garden because of distance, then I resort to buying flowers online. To me, flowers are a precious gift of fleeting beauty, just as life is a gift of fleeting beauty. Both should be appreciated fully.