10/02/2026
Looking back now, that innocent preschooler in her navy velvet and lace dress never dreamed she could grow up to play with flowers all day and be the conduit that spreads joy & sentiment between people in the form of flower arrangements.
When I look back at this picture of my younger self, I am reminded of the fond memories of being in the garden with my Mom & Dad. One year my Mom had my Dad dig up the middle of the backyard for a lily garden. It had all varieties of beautiful fragrant lilies-just lilies.
Our side garden had stepping stones and a fountain of a little boy holding an ice cream cone as he bent for a sip of water. It was a magical place for a little girl that awakened all of my senses-the sound of water trickling, vivid colored blooms that smelled delightful! I loved hopping from stone to stone.
I recall getting so excited at the start of each spring when the yellow forsythia bloomed because I would pick off the buds and run up the creek in our backyard and drop them in the water and run next to them down the backyard as they went under our two foot bridges and down tiny rock water falls only to then disappear under the culvert beneath our neighbors driveway and be gone forever.
I share this because so much of our childhood shapes who we become. I was blessed with a happy one. I spent most days outside with my Dad and our poodle, Louie, and our rabbits Ebony & Ivory (yes, they were black & white, but their names were also a nod to my love of the Piano) and their plethora of offspring. I now have a poodle of my own and a (mostly) house-trained rabbit. What I didn’t plan on was a beautiful floral business where I spend my days creating while listening to my favorite music. I connect with people when they are most emotional and sometimes vulnerable. After all, flowers are ordered during life’s most important moments.
My family and I are so deeply blessed. It hasn’t always been easy especially when I received a breast cancer diagnosis at 40. But that experience reminded me that we all go through different seasons. Some are seasons of abundance and some are seasons of barren darkness. I have a piece of art hanging in my studio that says “May the flowers remind us why the rain was so necessary”. We need periods of rain to grow, bloom, and flourish.
So when I look at that little girl with her bright smile, a lace collar, and not a care in the world, I see someone who was filled with sunshine, wonder, & with the quiet magic of watching something small float away on the water. Every season since, the sweet and the hard, has been shaping the hands that have gone from picking flowers in the yard to now gathering stems and securing ribbons. Today, when you trust me with your celebrations, your sympathies, and your "I'm thinking of you," I pour all of that into every arrangement. Because somewhere along the way, that little girl chasing forsythia down the creek became the one who sends joy down the stream to you. And I couldn't be more grateful.
