
Today, when getting home from the doctor’s, I found a cheery bouquet of flowers on my porch – from my in-laws. That’s my sister and brother-in-law and my parents-in-law. I love those guys and it’s always good to hear from them.
But I’m not naive. I know not everyone is close to their family. And not everyone has family who tells them they love him or her. (And not everyone has a father-in-law who will be 100 in December.)
One time Ken and I were at a funeral where the family received an enormous amount of flowers. The husband of the lady who died asked if we would distribute the flowers to the elderly and/or shut-ins from the church. The happy greetings we received when the person opened the door to a beautiful bouquet made me want to be a florist right then and there as I realized how little many of them were ever surprised with such beauty.
So I started doing something once in a while with my grandkids. (Not as often as we should.) We will buy a bouquet of flowers in the supermarket and take them to an assisted living home. There, we would ask the receptionist to give them to someone who doesn’t receive visitors … or flowers.
“I know JUST who to give them to,” one receptionist gushed. “This lady doesn’t receive anything ever.”
Here’s my challenge to you on this chilly October day. Purchase a bouquet of flowers and take them to an assisted living center (or to a bedridden person at your church). If you can’t get in, give them to a receptionist to deliver.
You might be surprised how much a merry bouquet of flowers means to someone.
And thanks again to my wonderful, loving, talented, outstanding (and slightly crazy) Pennsylvania family.