These stories will have you breaking down and crying your eyes out.
“I love you. Mikey”
“My best friend and, basically, my brother, Mike, killed himself on the 4th of July 2005. Suicide note was left. Me and his grandmother found him. The funeral was intense. Tons of friends and family. I never left Mikey’s side. It wasn’t a time to catch up with old friends like most were doing. It was my final time spent with the closest person to me. A few days later, a bouquet of Mikey’s favorite flowers (daffodils) popped up. I opened the little envelope. It was a note from Mikey. A P.S. to his suicide note for me. It said: ‘Thank you my brother for doing all you could. You are the sole reason I made it this far. We both need to know you did all you could but I was not built for this world. But you were. Keep shining your light, my brother. Until the next time we meet. I love you. Mikey.’ I have the dried flowers and the note in its own portable safe. Every 4th of July, I take it out and read it. I have sent many bouquets to friends and family members I’ve lost. I have received plenty as well. In my lifestyle, we lose folks regularly. But that note, that note was the single most powerful, painful, enjoyable, and humbling message I have ever received” (source).
Grandpa’s Last Note
“My grandfather had a note written for my grandmother that said ‘Happy anniversary. I’ll always love you. Fife’ Fife was his pet name for my grandmother. It was delivered on their 40th anniversary. 5 months after he had passed from colon cancer. He had his son (my uncle) get the card and he wrote it a week before he passed. My uncle then saved it and sent it with the flowers my grandfather had ordered for her. We found the card again when she passed away. She had kept it stashed in one of his old cigar boxes with a stack of other love notes he’d sent her through the years (most when he was overseas in WW2)”(source).
“I don’t know if flowers can miss people, but part of me likes to think this one did”
“I take care of the orchids in a floral store and had a young woman come in, maybe in her early 20’s. She was very sweet, attentive, and wanted to know about everything we had, but eventually settled on an orchid. She was very excited about moving into a new home and had me help her find a flower that would brighten up the place. She listened very closely to the directions I gave her for caring for her new plant (it was a gorgeous plum & white blossom), and even had me write them down for her. I used store stationary and even wrote my name in the card. I told her to come see me if she had any questions at all. About a month and a half later, an older man comes in with the orchid, possibly her father. He’d seen my name/name of our store on the card and brought it back to us. The young woman had passed away in an accident shortly after moving and he didn’t know how to care for the plant. It was in great shape, I could tell she’d been taking good care of it, but he didn’t want anything to do with it. He asked me to refund it and put it back on the shelves, as even with the directions he wasn’t sure he could take care of it. Even if he could, he didn’t want it around. I think it reminded him of her too much. I have a small amount of oversight in the department, so I managed to trade him the orchids for a funeral bouquet that was worth a lot more. I was supposed to put the orchid back on display, but I couldn’t bear to. I got permission to bring it home with me, but even with all the care I gave it, it died a couple weeks later. I don’t know if flowers can miss people, but part of me likes to think this one did” (source).
“Forever Bloom, in our hearts and yours”
“My mom was a floral arrangement ‘specialist’ at Kroger. A young woman came in asking for lilies and rosebuds with baby’s breath. My mom put it together for her and asked what she wanted on the card. The woman replied, ‘To Lily, the breath of your baby shall forever bloom, in our hearts and yours.’ She told my mom her sister’s daughter died of SIDS the day before” (source).
“I’ll never forget it”
“I was a florist for about 5 years and though I don’t specifically remember any of the card messages, my worst day was when a local 7 or 8 year old girl passed away after she was thrown from a horse. The neighborhood she lived in was right across the street from my shop, and one day before the funeral all the little girl’s friends came in with their parents to pick things out for the funeral. It was heart wrenching with each of these little girls and boys choosing flowers and saying what they wanted on the card. I’ll never forget it” (source).
“Fresh in the shop from the funeral home”
“My shop used to do funerals. We had a couple come in once and they just did not seem all there, taking the order was very difficult but eventually we got them sorted out with a nice little spray-blue arrangement for a casket and some blue and white standing arrangements. Turns out they had just lost their 4 year old son and were actually fresh in our shop from the funeral home where they choose the casket. We got orders the rest of the week from their friends and relatives with cards like ‘heartbroken for you’ and ‘he was the sweetest boy.’ Having seen them as they went through it made every card hard to write”(source).
“I want to be there with you so badly”
“A man comes into the shop and orders a funeral arrangement. The florist takes the order. Then the guy orders another one–a children’s bouquet, also for a funeral. By this time, the florist is feeling chilled and trying not to cry. The guy is almost robotic about it. Then he picks out another arrangement for a child. The florist is at a total loss for words for what to say. He asks that the arrangements share a single card which read: ‘To my wife and my little ones. Daddy is so sorry. I want to be there with you so badly.’ Turns out, the man was driving home the day or so before during a ferocious storm in Atlanta. At a stop sign, an old tree gets uprooted from the deluge of rain, crushing the car he, his wife and two children were in. He was the only survivor” (source).
Absolutely Heartbreaking
“I once had to send an arrangement and card to a woman at her work. The order was placed by her and was for the one year anniversary of her miscarriage. She specifically requested that we not reveal the sender if anyone called in to ask (the card was intentionally left with no sender). So the woman got the arrangement she sent herself, called us to ask who it was from, and we had to tell her ‘I’m sorry, the sender has asked to remain anonymous.’ Even though the previous night she had called herself to order it. Absolutely heartbreaking” (source)
Hugs Can’t Reach Heaven
“I helped a cute and quiet boy and his father make an arrangement and they had ‘Happy birthday, mommy’ on the card. I told the boy, ‘I bet your mommy will LOVE this. Give her a hug with it, too!’ The boy teared up and said he didn’t think he could make his hug reach heaven and he hoped she could see the flowers on her grave. The Dad looked wrecked” (source).
“but it just isn’t the same”
“I once saw a card in some flowers at a little boys gravesite. There was a photo in the headstone, he couldn’t have been more than 6. Scattered around it were some of what I assume we’re his favorite action figures in life, and on the card (presumably from a brother or friend): ‘I keep coming to play with you but it just isn’t the same.’ Hit me right in the feels” (source).
“I hope he’ll love you as much as I did…”
“I worked for a florist delivering flowers all through college. The saddest was a delivery of yellow roses I made to a notably attractive young lady. The card said: ‘I hope he’ll love you as much as I did – and still do ..’ She just stood there, reading the note back to me, and then she burst into tears. It’s something that made a lasting impression on me” (source).
Gift Shop Teddy Bears
“My significant other worked as a florist in a hospital. Once, two sisters, one was around 6, the other around 8, came up to him wanting to buy two small teddy bears that was also sold in the shop. My significant asks them if they want him to wrap them up as a gift or anything, and the small girl told him: ‘No thank you. It’s for my brother. He is upstairs and very sad. Our mother just passed away. She has had cancer for a very long time.’ The older sister was buying a teddy bear for their father” (source).
“Turns out Eric was just getting married…”
“My grandmother was a florist for many years. I used to go to the greenhouse with her all the time and watch her make these amazing flower arrangements. One day, I was visiting and she’s just got done making a stunning bouquet with a small card in the center. The card read ‘Eric, I’m sorry to have heard of your recent tragedy. You’ll forever be missed by us all.’ Turns out Eric was just getting married – the arrangement was from his drinking buddies” (source).