the calm before the storm; mother’s day 2013 edition.

There are few things we can count on in our unpredictable flower business. One of them is that, during the the week before a major holiday, we’ll have one or two days that are mind-numbingly slow and boring. Today is one of those days.

The empty squares on the calendar before Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and Christmas are blessings disguised as apocalyptic flower shop end-of-days. They make us bite our nails and wring our hands and sweat through our t-shirts, but they also give us a few precious hours to catch our breath and get organized before the main event.

This is my fourth Mother’s Day in the flower biz, and of all the holidays it’s my favorite. I think we all take a little extra pride in designing special arrangements for moms, who deserve an entire calendar of days of recognition but settle for just one. Mommas are always so thrilled to receive flowers from their families, and I love spending the Saturday afternoon before Mother’s Day delivering orders and seeing each lady’s reaction. There are usually tears, sometimes big hugs, and one sweet lady even invited me inside last year and asked if I was married because she had an eligible son… ;-)

Chad and I call this “Flower Power,” the special ability that hand-delivered fresh flowers have to make someone feel loved and appreciated. It’s almost magical, ya’ll.

I guess I’ll take advantage of this quiet day and close the shop on time! It’s Taco Tuesday, and I have a date with my own special mom and step-dad (and some queso).

Sidebar: If you’re planning on sending flowers to a special lady next week, can I make a tiny request? Call a local florist, instead of those 800-number guys or the big online order gatherers. Sure, they’re tempting with their cheap prices and tooted up advertising, but buyer beware. They take your order, then drop-ship the flowers in a box on your doorstep or route the order to a local florist after taking a BIG commission off the top. Many times you’re left with an arrangement well below the value you paid for, or it’s never sent at all. Skip the corporate middle-men, and work with a local shop whose artisans will create something fresh and unique that you’ll be proud of. And as a bonus, you’ll get the warm-and-fuzzies from supporting a small business in your community!