Have I ever mentioned I HATE valentines???

Every year as a florist, I dread Valentines, I spend from January 2 till the week of Valentines getting ready for that ONE DAY. It is the single biggest day of the year . . . and it SUCKS!

My store is small. I order over 2000 roses. (That's a lot of roses for a small store.) When we loaded the roses in the Yukon (I took all the seats out and there was just a flat space in the back) they went from the back of the front seat all the way to the hatch door, and from floor to ceiling! I should have taken a picture of that . . . but I forgot.

I spent a crazy amount of money on flowers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When I left the store to go pick up the flowers I said, "There are three cases vases that need to be taped still (We tape a grid across the top to help hold the flowers in place) and all the buckets need to be filled with water so we can clean and put all the flowers away when I get back."

Every year at valentines we have to strip the thorns off and pluck the petals off and make them beautiful so that they are easy to grab and go . . . (On a normal day we don't always go to that kind of trouble, because we aren't in a rush.) So I assumed that they heard what I said.

That was my first mistake! (I should never assume anything.)

I was gone 2 hours!

I get back and NONE of the vases are taped . . . and most of the buckets are filled, but not all of them. (Ok so what did they do for the two hours I was gone?)

So I drop the flowers off at the store and they are hungry and I say I will go through a drive through, well my one employee doesn't want that, she wants me to got to "Which wich" and get sandwiches, which meant that I had to go in, stand in line, and wait till they made the sandwiches. Which took more time than I wanted to spend. But I did it.

By the time I got back mom and my employee are putting away the flowers but they are just cutting the ends and chunking them into the buckets! WHAT?!?!?! They "know" they need to clean the stems, don't they? didn't I tell them we were going to clean the flowers before I left??? Every year at valentines don't we "CLEAN" the stems and pluck the petals?

So I tell them to stop, that all the roses need to be cleaned . . . and my employee gives me flack. "We didn't do it that way last year!" she says.

"Yes we did, because it makes things go a lot faster when we are busy."

"No we didn't."

"Yes we did." At this point I decide, Why am I fighting with her? I'm the boss!!! So I say, "Fine don't do it then, I will do it my (@&^(& self because it needs to be done right and I will stay here all night if I have to do it and do it myself!!!" Conversation done!

Both she and my mom were shocked that I snapped. And I guess I hurt her feelings. I didn't mean to, but why is she fighting with me when I am paying her and I'm telling her how I want it done? I don't understand that.

Did I mention this holiday stresses me out?

For me I guess I know what I have to do for the holidays, I have it down. I have been doing it along time. And on a normal week I am very laid back, I let the girls do pretty much anything they want as long as the work gets done. But don't mess with me at Valentines!!! It's a bad plan for anyone.

So the two young girls that I have working for me, start cleaning the roses the "right way" The "Cheri way", and redoing what mom and my other employee had done. They are joking around and being silly, but we are getting the work done, it's going smoothly and I am getting less and less stressed because the roses are looking pretty and I know that I will just be able to grab and go. But, now my employee is mad, and since I'm the boss and she can't take it out on me, she starts being mean and snarky to the young girls (Who are actually doing what I told them to do!!!)

Eventually things got back on track . . . I think . .. I hope . . . I'm still upset that MY EMPLOYEE wanted to fight with me about what I needed to have done . . . She eventually said "Well I didn't remember we had done it that way last year." Ok but what does it matter that we didn't do it that way last year . . . this is how I want it done now. (But we did do it that way last year)" I run a small staff, and get a lot of flowers out, because of all the prep work I do to get ready for the holiday.

So with all of that said . . . here are some pictures of the "Joys of being a florist at Valentines day."

Here is just part of the trash on the floor . . . They had already swept more than half of it up by the time I remembered I wanted to take pictures.

I am sure the trash man loves me. Poor guy!

This is my dad dealing with SOME of the boxes the flowers came in. He had already taken one truck load to the dumpster.

Not all of the petals got plucked, but today Brooke will go in and do that, the important thing was to get the stems cleaned and put in water . . .

They look pretty good!

So if any of you are ordering flowers, please be kind to your florist, this is a hard week . . . We work so hard to bring beautiful things to a lot of people, but remember you may only have 1 valentine, but I have about 400 valentines . . . and everyone is special to me . . . so please be kind to your florist.