Mother's Day as a Working Mom Florist
Hey Wild Flowers, Meg here!
I’ve been trying to write a blog post about what it’s like to be a working mama florist around Mother’s Day but it keeps getting pushed – the irony! Mother’s Day is the biggest retail flower holiday of the year, and the week leading up to it is chaos. Beautiful, colorful chaos, but chaos nevertheless!
Every year around Mother’s Day, Natalie and I get asked a lot, “Wait, do you have to work on Mother’s Day?” To which we answer with a resounding, “Uhhh, YES!” The follow up conversation usually revolves around how it’s our Mother’s Day too: “How do you celebrate? When do you celebrate?” etc.
If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be a working mom and a florist during Mother’s Day, here’s the deal…
Mother’s Day week in the shop is magical madness – all hands are on deck, we bring in freelancers for additional support, and there are so many buckets of flowers, you can’t see the floor. The hoopla starts on the Wednesday before, and the air smells like peonies with a hint of stress. Those five days are full of early mornings receiving flowers, late nights double checking orders, and caffeine-fueled days of arranging, delivering, and helping hundreds of San Diegans share love through the power of flowers for the mamas in their lives!
This busy work-week is happening during the same five days when there’s a Mother’s Day pancake breakfast at pre-school, a mama and me special dance class at ballet, and Mother’s Day story and snack time at the library – and I want to be there for those things! And I want to be there to quality control every arrangement going out and support our team. I want to do and be both all the time!! Where are we on cloning, again?
Truthfully, this is the dance a fourth of our team (and most working moms) do every day but it’s amplified big time during Mother’s Day. Especially because the peak of Mother’s Day comes along in addition to the regular bustle of life, not instead of. And as my kids have gotten older, it’s gotten busier with their activities and school commitments. I’m currently writing this on a Sunday afternoon next to my kids as they watch Bluey because nobody naps anymore!
When my kids ask why I’m leaving early again at breakfast and I explain, “Your mama makes flowers for all the moms,” there’s a spark of understanding and pride. And when they come to visit at the shop amidst the tornados of tulips — that's when it clicks. This crazy season is part of their story, too.
Mother’s Day itself is busy early in the day! Everyone wants to snag blooms for their mom before brunch, and the storm finally calms in the early afternoon. The past few years, Natalie and I have been able to head home a bit early and spend time with our families while our team carries the last blooms across the finish line. But they too are often delaying or skipping a celebration with their mom to spend the majority of the day creating beauty for other mamas in our community.
At the end of the week, we’re zonked, sore, and smell like a flower shop, but there’s a burst of joy and relief from knowing we did it. It’s also all I know – I’ve never celebrated our Mother’s Day as a mom without being a florist! I usually “celebrate” the day after with a nap, a glass of wine and a delicious meal without the crowds, and it’s a really good day.
If you’re a working mom on Mother’s Day, florist or not, we raise a glass to you – on mama’s day and everyday!
