Happiness is…..flowers

I always admired my Grandma Stephens’ flower garden. It smelled wonderful and was full of vibrant colors. She truly had a green thumb. My favorite flowers were the roses. She spent a lot of time in her garden, and I can vividly picture the sun hat bobbing as she moved through the flowers, trimming and tending to them.

My second real memory of flowers, unfortunately, was at my Granny Fuller’s funeral. She, too, had a green thumb and grew beautiful flowers. Her favorite was petunias. I remember her standing at the flowerpots on the porch pulling off the dead blooms to make way for new ones. The funeral home had so many beautiful flowers when she passed, and the smell was overwhelming. I remember thinking, why do people send flowers after the person has passed instead of when they are alive and can enjoy them? I was young at the time, maybe eight or nine. But I made myself a promise to enjoy flowers as much as possible because they were something I loved, and they made me happy.

As I grew older and moved out on my own, I made it a point to buy myself flowers. I found that at the farmers market, they were cheaper than at the florist. I didn’t have a lot of money, but I always made sure to have enough for a small, fresh bouquet. And as I started dating, it said a lot about a guy if he brought me flowers. Especially if we had seen each other a few times, and he had probably heard how much I loved fresh flowers. My husband appreciates their beauty as much as I do, so he ensures we have a vase or two of flowers in our home.

Some say it’s a senseless way to spend money because they don’t last very long. I say, if they make you happy, it is money well spent. They can brighten your day and make your home look nice. So why not keep these beautiful, delicate expressions of happiness around all the time?