Why We Do What We Do ~ by Alanna

In the floral industry we hear all kinds of stories; some joyous, some somber. A few weeks ago I received a call from a man who worked at another flower shop.  He needed to send a personal floral gift and he needed it in a hurry. Through the conversation he told me that the recipient of the gift was on her death bed… terminal cancer and did not have much longer to live. He wanted to send a few mixed orchid plants in a large glass or ceramic container and said it needed to arrive the next day as early as possible.

As promised, we delivered the orchid arrangement just before noon. I called him back to let him know the delivery had been made so that he would not worry.  He thanked me for taking care of this so quickly and I thanked him in return for trusting this important personal order to our shop to fill. I told him that I hoped the gift helped her to know that she was thought of in a special way.  I hung up and went on about my day, as usual....

A week later the man called back to thank me for taking care of his order and to tell me that his friend had passed away at about 12:30 pm the day we delivered the gift.  As he attended the visitation, he realized the family had brought the orchid arrangement to be displayed during the service.  He said how much the family appreciated the floral gift and how they planned to keep the plants in her honor. 

It would not have mattered how large or small the gift was; whether you are both in the floral industry or not… It was a reminder why we do what we do. We send gifts out all day and sometimes we need to be reminded of the memories we help create.