Yes it DOES Smell nice in here...

My son the doctor...

Mother's day is just a few weeks away and I have a TO DO list a mile and a half long!

On top of everything else I have to prepare for this major holiday - in fact the BUSIEST seven days of the ENTIRE year - I also have to mentally prepare myself for the dreaded "Day After"!

Get any two florists in a room together and the most common phrase you will hear them utter is "My son the doctor..":

"My son, the doctor, would never send me anything THIS small!"
"I KNOW my son, the doctor, spent a lot of money on these flowers!"
"My son, the doctor, knows that I only like yellow flowers!"
"I'm calling my son, the doctor, and telling him to NEVER use your flower shop again!"

When I was growing up working in the shop on the holidays, I couldn't believe that so many women a) hated our flowers, b) had so much time to spend yelling about how much they hated our flowers and c) had sons who were doctors.

As time went on I learned a few important lessons:
-These women really didn't "hate" our flowers, they hated what the flowers represented - the minimal amount of time, love and respect their "son, the doctor" was showing by sending such a meager flower arrangement.
-These women had so much time to spend because they had no one to talk to regularly and they could spend 30 minutes arguing semantics to keep their minds sharp.
-And finally, so many of these women had sons who were doctors/lawyers/brokers because there tended to be a direct correlation between the status of the son and the value (or lack thereof) of the flowers ordered.

Over the years the trend in complaints (yes, there is a trend in complaints) has shifted - thankfully - to those who really have quality issues... what a relief! We still get one or two "My son the doctors"; but, 20 or so years later, the "sons" seem to have a better idea of what makes mom happy - the real difference between referring to your "son, the doctor" and having a relationship with your "son, the doctor".

Trust me... it's not about the monetary value of the flowers, it's about the emotional value the flowers represent.

Of course, the complainers are going to complain NO MATTER WHAT; I've heard "My son the garbage collector" too!