gratitude

The biggest wedding planning myth: this isn’t hard, folks.

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Everybody says it, usually accompanied by an eye roll.  “Wedding planning is so hard!”  And it can see that way, when you avoid thinking outside your own bubble. I heard a tale today that put my problems into sharp focus: i.e. that they are about the size of a grain of rice in the grand scheme of things.  Listen up – let’s all start throwing rice in happiness. Why wait for a ceremony?

So what’s the biggest problem people planning a wedding face? Lack of perspective.  Today I had a conversation with a woman who grew up in rural Greece in the 1940s.  She described growing up after losing both her parents caring for four siblings, without heat, indoor plumbing and so little money they couldn’t afford shoes.  “I hear people complain about their shoes being the wrong color,” she said, “and I shake my head.” Honestly – this was a humbling conversation.  centerpiece by My Little Flower Shop in Palm Springs, CA

I did not dare explain the “problems” of helping people plan weddings. Discussing the fact that I wrote about wedding planning “problems” suddenly sounded incredibly shallow.  Seriously? Bottom line we’re talking about happy people, in love, planning a celebration.  When you’re having an issue, step back and think for a moment about the fact that you’re wearing shoes. And that you’ve been lucky enough to find an individual you want to marry. That’s pretty phenomenal.

Be well and love well.

Dinah

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Counting Our Blessings – Everyone Is OK After Car Hits My Little Flower Shop

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We are so thankful that no one was hurt in the accident that occurred at our store yesterday. For those of you who don’t know, here’s the news account of a car driving straight through our front window at 1:30 yesterday afternoon.  Luckily there was no one in the store at the time. While this in no way compares to the recent violence in Colorado, it jolted us out of our everyday existence in a similar way.

It shouldn’t take shocking events to make us count our blessings, and to be thankful for the people in our lives, but sometimes it does. Let’s take these events and turn them to our advantage. Ask yourself: have you been kind today? Have you told your significant other that you love them? Have you told your children you are proud of them? Have you given yourself and your co-workers credit for accomplishments, big and small? It’s never the wrong time to share loving, encouraging thoughts.

We extend a big ‘thank you’ to all the first responders, neighbors, fellow business owners, friends, family, and customers who have reached out to us. We are My ‘Little’ Flower Shop, but we feel BIG love from our community.  Consider it one more blessing – we’re losing count. Lucky us.

Be well, and love well.

Dinah

 

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My Little Etiquette Shop: Lessons Learned at…a funeral?

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Last week was quite a week. A fair bit of time was given to supporting a grieving family who lost their mother, our neighbor.

Her funeral brought out my contemplative side.  The service was unique, in that the rabbi thought he was a stand up comedian.  At first I braced myself: this was a train wreck.  Knowing he wasn’t someone who knew the family well, but had met with them briefly the day before, I dreaded where he was going with his goofy humor.  However, bit by bit, he charmed everyone in the room (myself included) with his puns, and the way he spoke more about the people present than the one who was gone. He really brought her to life in the way he “riffed” on each meaningful relationship, right down to mock-lecturing her son’s boss saying, “keep an eye on him.”

I love and respect Jewish culture, our wedding was quite traditional. But, as an employee at a floral design studio, and lover of flowers I am comforted by flowers at funerals, which are contrary to Jewish tradition. (I’ll let wiser folk explain).  One woman at the service brought flowers, completely innocently.  The same jovial rabbi spoke a little too sharply to her for my taste about the fact that they were “not allowed.”  From the row behind her, it looked like she felt bad. I often mangle Emily Post’s famous quote about how keeping people comfortable around you makes your behavior proper, no matter what. We’ll make the exact quote lesson 1 from yesterday, followed by the other two.

1) Mind your manners “Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use.” -Emily Post.  Don’t make people feel bad, especially in a sensitive situation like a funeral. <ahem Rabbi…>

2) Trust a professional to do their job. That Rabbi wasn’t going to risk corny humor if he didn’t know where he was going with it, and that he would be able to touch people. Have a little faith, and even when things seem like they are going wrong, they are most likely going to turn in the right direction.

2) Laugh when you want to cry. This is of course a very serious application of that principle.  But it applies in so many situations. If you reflexively tear up in response to a bizarre/awful/terrible/shocking event in your life, take a deep breath, and try to reframe. There’s got to be something funny about what happened. You just have to find that piece of it and let it tickle you.  It takes the air out of almost anything, and you can begin to put the pieces back together.

Have a happy, grateful week everyone! Count your blessings.

Be well, and love well.

Dinah