8/12/2024

Today marks 11 years since the last time I talked to mom. Today also marks the 11th family that my nonprofit I opened in mom’s honor has helped with funeral flowers.

Today is the day 11 years ago that I finished doing flowers for the first LGBT wedding show, mom was so proud and excited for me during our last conversation. And today my daughter and I finished the flowers hand in hand for a funeral of someone my daughter knew, someone who championed her in her dream to become a nail technician.

Tomorrow is mom’s death anniversary. Tomorrow is the funeral for the young mother that lost her life to domestic violence. A harsh reminder of how close I was to being in a casket myself from domestic violence at one time in my life.

My daughter who just turned 23 decided to do more floral work this year on her own after spending her entire life being my assistant. At 22 she started her business as a nail tech and another business as a florist. At 22, I escaped Domestic Violence with 4 young boys and started life over. At 22, we both began anew in our own ways.

Sometimes life has a way of helping us recognize our achievements. We get so wrapped up in the day to day craziness that we tend to not see the bigger picture. Don’t forget to take a step back to acknowledge the ironies of life. The little things count, but they’re just pieces to a bigger puzzle. Keep building your own unique puzzle, you never know how amazing it will look as it continues to grow.