Some days start out so benign that in your gut you have to know that something will go terribly wrong. Yesterday was one of those days.
So, before you panic, no one is sick, hurt, hospitalized or dead. Everyone is fine and I am blessed in that way.
That being said, it was a living nightmare.
I left the parking lot at work checking my voicemail. My current phone is a bit of a challenge for me right now. For awhile I couldn't convince it that I wasn't on California time, and my text message default is the alphabet in Farsi. Somehow I don't have any entries in my phonebook, but when people I know call me, my phone recognizes them and identifies them to me. But this is not about my phone. Oh, no. It is not.
This is about my choice to do the flowers for the daughter of a cousin of the man formerly known as my husband. I've been planning this for awhile--since the bride-to-be, her mother and two sisters, her sleeping fiance, the fiance's mother and sister all convened in my small living room to plan the wedding of "her" dreams. Needless to say, this was a family affair.
I was paid last week in a big wad of cash so there wouldn't be any glitches at the bank or anything, so said the sweet mother of the bride.
Back to the parking lot: I'm leaving later than hoped, hurrying so I can pick up the flowers from the wholesaler before they close at 4:30. (Side note: they close at 4:00.) My voice mails consisted of cryptic messages from the wedding party concluding in a semi-frantic message from the bride asking if I will indeed be there with the flowers in time today. Today???
No, surely she must be semi-delirious and have meant tomorrow--Saturday--the day I took off from work to clean flowers, create 5 perfect bridesmaid bouquets, one even more perfect bridal bouquet with the yellow and white ribbon I had yet to buy at the wholesalers when I picked up the flowers tonight, and make the 7 corsages, the 12 boutonnieres, get the cake flowers ready, the toss bouquet, label them all with little printed labels so the reception center could help me pin them all on the right people before the ceremony and print off a google map showing me the quickest route to the reception center in Bountiful an hour before the ceremony starts at 5:00.
I called my son with a forced calm voice and asked him to read me the ignored wedding invitation hanging on the magnet board in our kitchen. "...reception following the ceremony in their honor, Friday, November Second, Two Thousand Seven...."
It ended with me in my IKEA uniform making 60 second boutonnieres with my sister Rachel who stopped at grocery stores between her house and Bountiful buying every white rose she could find. It ended with little anger from the groom's mother stating firmly that she had paid good money to have the wedding of the couple's dreams and we needed to talk and me assuring her that she would get every penny of her money back because I wouldn't dream of charging her anything after all of this. It ended with ex-in-law-cousins hugging me, rubbing my back telling me it's OK, saying "We love you cutie!" It ended after an hour of impromptu flowers in the reception kitchen and an hour of my dear sister talking me down off the ledge in the parking lot while I vacillated between the urge to vomit and to wet my pants. It ended with the resolution to not do any more floral jobs, because what worked so well when my boys were babies and helped supplement a meager income 10 years ago, does not work when you are a single mom with a full-time job already.
It was a wake-up call. It was a truly non-tragic jolt of a reality check which humbled me and helped me again realize how many people would drop their lives to help calm me, help tape flowers, help make dinner for my kids, help gird me for whatever hysterical fits I may encounter and send others to intervene and protect, help by offering to drive to Bountiful, help in whatever way they could.
"It should seem impossible for me to fail, so watched by gentle friends who made my cause their own." -Robert Browning
I am blessed beyond measure.
6 comments:
Oh my word! What a day you had! All my problems simply pale in comparison!
I'm So sorry you had to go through that. But you made it through and everyone survived. Put it behind you, now.
You amaze me, now come to Florida and vacation!
On Michy! I can't believe and yet can believe all of that. I'm so glad that you made it through. I'm so sorry for all of the headache. I wish I could have been there to help.
I LOVE YOU!
What a crazy experience. When I first started reading this blog, I thought...how cool, I didn't know Michelle could do flowers...maybe she could make a living doing it. Don't let one major mishap stop you from trying again. All's well that ends well...and at least you were able to come through for them.
I am glad you had the help you needed...I wish I had been there too.
Oh my goodness!! That is a horrible day. I am so glad to hear that you made it through. Good thing that you have good friends and family. I am sorry that it happened though. That is no fun at all.
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