The Best Thing Anyone Can Have

“When you are going through hell, Keep Going!”

                                                                          -Winston Churchill

We can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it is not an oncoming train.  The flowers have been harvested, the trucks have all left and sales reps are directing traffic, making sure all those boxes go to the right place.  Sun Valley customer service is a bright spot in the melee of Mother’s Day in the floral industry.   Having personal contact, with no phone tree, makes it easy to follow up on an order, check order status, and hopefully share a laugh with our team.

A crew picking Oriental Lilies for Mother's Day

 It’s in your hands now, to make this the most successful Mother’s Day ever. We know florists, wholesalers and floral departments all over the country are in the thick of it.  The coffee is flowing and you are getting your ducks in a row to produce an enormous amount of arrangements and bouquets over the next 72 hours.

Don’t worry; it will all be worth it. The elation flowers bring, the smiles and tears of joy that happen when children of all ages take a moment in time to think about their mom is an event to cherish. We thank all the flower professionals burning the midnight oil to make this day so special.

The most beautiful present for mom, a Sun Valley Lily.

 The cynics of the world call Mother’s Day a “Hallmark Holiday”; claiming occasions such as this are purely motivated by commercialism and consumerism.  I ask these people, what could be more pure than celebrating the woman who brought you into this world.  Maybe I am being selfish when I say, Mother’s Day may trump all other holidays, since without moms having babies all the other holidays would be moot.

In my family, flowers have always been a tradition for Mother’s Day…as well as a fabulous brunch.  As a little boy, I woke up early Sunday morning and picked flowers from our yard and the forest edge, spring time in Rhode Island can yield quite a bounty, if you know where to look.  The flowers were put in a make shift vase, like a juice glass, and accompanied with a hand drawn card, heavy on the crayoned hearts and “XOXO”s.

Now being a father and seeing first-hand the connection between mother and child, the beautiful essence of Mother’s Day is even clearer.   Your mother had more patience, care and love than your father; I bet this can be said for 99% of the world population, it is one of those “hard wired” type things that no amount of science or research can quantify.  When my son has a bad dream and wakes up screaming, is he screaming “Dadddddy”?  No, never.   He is screaming, “Mommmmmy!"

Happy Mother's Day from Sun Valley

Spring time is when flowers bloom in the wild, and when babies are born in the natural world. We are in the great cycle of rebirth and renewal as the longer days and warmer temperatures awaken the landscape. 

The second Sunday in May is a wonderful time to celebrate, and with all the riches, material wealth and technology in the world, a mom is still the best thing anyone can have.