The Joy of Giving Flowers

Long time no see! I've been doing some things around my weekends and tend to not have time to get something ready for the #weekend-engagement initiative. However, I'm glad to see it is still running strong. It feels like homecoming to be writing something for this weekend's initiative.

There are many small things that make me happy. Some of them are really small. What can I say? I'm a simple guy. I found joy in so many little things. I think that is something my grandfather taught. And when I said taught I don't mean he actually gave me a lesson of this topic. It is just what I picked up from his way of acting and living.

Anyways, there's a particular thing that I remember brought me a lot of joy that I had stopped doing. Once upon a time when I had my first girlfriend, I used to have to travel to another city for hours just to get a glimpse of her. Whenever I went visit, it was a big ritual. I usually stopped at a flower shop or by an old gentlemen who sold flowers. By the end of the thing, it was mostly by the latter. I would get her flowers. Anytime I went to visit, I brought flowers with me. I looked serious or joyful. However, inside, I was giggling like when you're a child and bring your mother a handcraft you made at school.

Buying flowers is a lovely activity. You get to choose them. You get to carry them. The smell is amazing. Giving them is awesome. People who like flowers often get this big smile they can't erase for a really long time. Besides, flowers bring life to a place. While you walk with flowers, you get curious looks. Some people smile at you. You smile back. Some joke saying things like "you shouldn't have". And you reply "but I did".

Nevertheless, I lost that joy when that relationship ended. It doesn't matter the reasons. Being young and in love is an experience. I got to do some of the things I liked about being in a relationship. However, buying flowers and giving them wasn't in the list. And I did buy flowers for someone along the way once. It was a gift for a college graduation. It barely counts as a romantic gesture.

The story had a turn this year. So I've been dating since the end of last year. And it has gotten serious. So much that starting this year, I started buying flowers again. It's been going good. The lady at the flower stand already knows me. That's how often I go. The best part? Well, not sure if it is a good thing or not. But I was the first one to give flowers to @octocel. Her past boyfriends and other relationships never did. That's a kind of sad thing. But it is also motivation. So I try to give her flowers at least once a month. I'm still missing the ones for this month, but there's been a lot of things to do lately and things get complicated.

I still look forward to watching her combination of awe, aww, shyness and other emotion when she looks at the flowers and takes them. But I know for a fact she loves getting flowers. And I love giving them. Hopefully, I will give her lots and lots of flowers. That will also depend on the price of them. They keep getting more and more expensive. But you can't put a price to things that make you happy!