Sure, Valentine's Day has been commercialized beyond belief, but buy her flowers anyway. They're not just ornamentation, a sentimental gift. Keats penned, "A thing of beauty is a joy forever." Even as the flowers shrivel and wilt, a woman holds onto that joy every time she passes the bouquet. Then she remembers it long after. With no time to stop and smell the roses these days, I say give her the opportunity to do so and earn some brownie points at the same time. The special woman in your life should receive enchanting flowers at least once a year so that the receptionist at work thinks she is loved.
Santayana said, "To keep beauty in its place is to make all things beautiful." As anyone who has just received an overpriced, huge display of flora can attest, "This is good. This is very good." Receiving flowers predisposes you to be in a good mood all day, to find everyone around you suddenly beautiful. Who hasn't liked being gifted with flowers? And let's face it, who hasn't liked being around the recipient after the delivery, especially if she is your boss?
You
could go the candy route.
According to the National
Confectioners Association,
Americans spend approximately
$1.09 billion on candy
for Valentine's Day. The
Chocolate Manufacturers
Association (they must
be a euphoric group) state
that more than 36 million
heart-shaped boxes of
chocolate will be sold
this year for the holiday.
But I say candy is a dangerous
choice because if the
woman in your life is
on the Atkins or South
Beach diet, chocolate
inspires talk about gluing
the treat to her hips
or thighs, and though
luxuriously rich and possibly
an aphrodisiac, chocolate
isn't aesthetically pleasing
nor does its scent overtake
the room.
Luscious red roses say Jackie Kennedy, good taste and that you didn't go cheap. Red roses represent 69 percent of all roses purchased so you'd be in good company. Flowers might not save a relationship or guarantee the beginning of one, but a bunch of yellow daffodils sure makes the day. Flowers seem to say in a world gone topsy-turvy and too high tech for its own good that simple things still matter. That your special someone still matters. Why not beef up the bank accounts of the folks at the Society of American florists who sell more cut flowers for Valentine's Day than any other holiday? They're not a bad bunch.
John
Lennon said, "Life is
what happens while you're
busy making other plans."
That bunch of mums you
send her might form one
of her memories, might
sit at the cornerstone
of a bridge you don't
even know you're building.
So give her something
alive with possibility.
Pick some wildflowers,
pilfer white impatiens
or fuchsia bougainvillea
from a condo's entranceway,
order online. The important
thing is to value the
gesture, overdo the display
and get a really good
vase.
Of course, flowers don't just say romance on Valentine's Day. When my son was a toddler, he scribbled concentric circles on a pad and handed it over saying, "Look, Mommy. Flowers." It's nice to know that some guys are hardwired to recognize the importance of flowers in a woman's life on a major holiday. I only hope he continues to remember.
Article submitted by Barbara Field, a senior writer in Business and Financial Services. If you are interested in submitting a story to This Week @ UCSD, visit the Got News? section of our website or email ThisWeek@ucsd.edu.
You
could go the candy route.
According to the National
Confectioners Association,
Americans spend approximately
$1.09 billion on candy
for Valentine's Day. The
Chocolate Manufacturers
Association (they must
be a euphoric group) state
that more than 36 million
heart-shaped boxes of
chocolate will be sold
this year for the holiday.
But I say candy is a dangerous
choice because if the
woman in your life is
on the Atkins or South
Beach diet, chocolate
inspires talk about gluing
the treat to her hips
or thighs, and though
luxuriously rich and possibly
an aphrodisiac, chocolate
isn't aesthetically pleasing
nor does its scent overtake
the room.
Luscious red roses say Jackie Kennedy, good taste and that you didn't go cheap. Red roses represent 69 percent of all roses purchased so you'd be in good company. Flowers might not save a relationship or guarantee the beginning of one, but a bunch of yellow daffodils sure makes the day. Flowers seem to say in a world gone topsy-turvy and too high tech for its own good that simple things still matter. That your special someone still matters. Why not beef up the bank accounts of the folks at the Society of American florists who sell more cut flowers for Valentine's Day than any other holiday? They're not a bad bunch.
John
Lennon said, "Life is
what happens while you're
busy making other plans."
That bunch of mums you
send her might form one
of her memories, might
sit at the cornerstone
of a bridge you don't
even know you're building.
So give her something
alive with possibility.
Pick some wildflowers,
pilfer white impatiens
or fuchsia bougainvillea
from a condo's entranceway,
order online. The important
thing is to value the
gesture, overdo the display
and get a really good
vase.
Of course, flowers don't just say romance on Valentine's Day. When my son was a toddler, he scribbled concentric circles on a pad and handed it over saying, "Look, Mommy. Flowers." It's nice to know that some guys are hardwired to recognize the importance of flowers in a woman's life on a major holiday. I only hope he continues to remember.
