Spreading the Love

Dear Molalla,

Yesterday morning the phone rang at the flower shop.

A gentleman was on the other end. He explained that his wife was battling cancer and traveling to Portland for treatment. He wanted flowers delivered that afternoon so she’d have something bright waiting for her when she returned home.

I walked him through his order. He decided our signature garden-style arrangement would be best.

When it came time to write the card message, he got a little choked up — as many people do. It tugged on my heartstrings, as it often does.

I wished him and his wife well, thanked him for his order, and went to work designing something I hoped she would love.

We delivered the flowers to her doorstep.

This morning I opened the shop, turned on the lights, hung my open flag, and started checking emails and voicemails.

There was only one voicemail.

But it was one I couldn’t help saving so I can listen to it again when I need a reminder of why I do this.

It was the gentleman’s wife.

In the middle of everything she’s going through, she took the time to call the shop and tell us how much she loved the flowers. She said they were the best she’d received in a long time and that they smelled delicious.

I sat there listening, grinning ear to ear.

“We did it,” I thought.

“We brightened her day.”

Mission accomplished.

Recently I was asked in an interview what I love most about my job. The truth is, it isn’t

necessarily the flowers I design — it’s the people I design them for.

While I’m very particular about the flowers we send out, it’s the messages they carry that matter most to me. I consider it a privilege to be trusted with those sentiments.

I often share your touching stories with my family, but I thought it might be nice to share them with you from time to time too — so you can see what a special community you live in.

Keep spreading the love, Molalla.

I’m lucky to help deliver it.

XOXO,

Wild Iris