I Wanted Flowers, So I Bought Flowers

On the tiny decisions that make life feel richer

Photo by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash

I caught the sign out of the corner of my eye as I was driving my daughter to a sleepover: “Flower Stand Open.”

I was headed in the opposite direction, but immediately started wondering if I should stop on my way back.

By the time I dropped my oldest off, I had already informed my youngest daughter (who was just along for the ride) that we were making a flower detour on the way home.

The flower stand is tiny, self-serve, and a little unpredictable, which somehow makes it even more exciting when you catch it on the right day. It sells bouquets from a local flower farm, and you pay via Venmo. What’s available depends on what’s in season and what’s blooming that week.

That day, there was a beautiful mix of spring flowers, including my favorite: peonies. I have a peony bush at home, but mine had already come and gone.

So for $25 out of my Venmo account (which honestly feels a bit like fake money), I came home with a beautiful handmade bouquet that made me disproportionately happy.

As I drove home with the flowers and my 6-year-old daughter, who had plenty of questions about the flower stand, I realized two things.

First, self-serve flower stands are genius.

And second, I love that I can just buy myself flowers.

I wanted flowers, so I bought flowers.

Maybe that sounds obvious. I’m a grown-ass woman with some disposable income, so I can buy whatever I damn well please.

But honestly, I think a lot of women forget that.

Especially when it comes to things that serve no purpose other than making us happy.

Flowers aren’t practical. They don’t solve a problem. They aren’t crossing something off a to-do list. They’re just beautiful.

I don’t need to wait for someone else to buy them for me (although I’d be remiss not to acknowledge that my husband does buy me flowers). I can just treat myself.

Driving by the flower stand was a good reminder.

In a similar vein, one night last week I was supposed to meet a friend for a drink after work, and she canceled at the last minute.

So I decided to take myself out for a drink instead.

I ended up at a delightful coffee shop and cocktail bar, grabbed a spot by the window, ordered a cocktail and a snack, and enjoyed an hour to myself.

A younger version of me probably would have just gone home. Instead, I kept the date.

Neither of these was planned. The flower stand was impromptu. The cocktail was a pivot when my original plans fell through.

But both made an ordinary day feel a little more special.

One of my favorite parts of midlife is realizing you can just say yes to those moments.

You can buy the flowers.

You can keep the date, even when you’re the only one showing up.

You can choose the cocktail by the window instead of rushing home to do laundry or respond to email.

I think a lot of women spend years treating enjoyment like something that has to be earned first. We have no problem spending money on things that are useful, productive, or necessary. Our kids. Our homes. Our careers. Our responsibilities. But something purely because it would make an ordinary Tuesday feel a little prettier or a little more fun? That can still feel indulgent.

And yet, some of the moments that have made my life feel richest lately have come from these tiny decisions to stop postponing joy. The flowers on the counter. The cocktail by the window. The decision to make an otherwise ordinary day feel just a little bit special.

Not every good thing needs a plan.

Sometimes it’s enough to buy the flowers. Order the cocktail. Say yes to the small thing that makes an ordinary day feel a little brighter.

I’m finally at the age where “because I wanted to” feels like a complete sentence.

And I’m increasingly interested in the kind of life where I just buy the flowers.