My brother, sister-in-law and myself had a wonderful time making these stunning funeral flower arrangements. It was a blessing to make them while remembering mom, re-telling stories, crying, missing her and yes, laughing. It was therapeutic.
Each arrangement tells a story. Mami loved FLOWERS. She had a green thumb of a green thumb. Every home she ever owned was surrounded by various types of flowers, colors, textures, and fragrances. She spoke to her flowers daily, especially if the flower was struggling to thrive. It was beautiful to see her/ hear her have conversations with her flowers. She used to say that, “each flower would reveal the character of the person that selected it.’ I do not know how true this is but if it is true then, this arrangement truly expresses the true nature/character of my sister-in-law. She is thoughtful, caring, sensitive, and joyful. The colors of the roses bring a lot of joy, thoughtfulness. The lilies, the interior pink color of them, really compliment the roses but also convey sensitivity. You need to be very cautious handling lilies as they can easily vent and snap.
I love the arrangement. It’s delicate, elegant, and classy. Its’ simple beautify truly represent my mami. Mami was very sensitive to the needs of others, and when she dressed herself up, she would look stunning.
This beautiful and stunning arrangement is the creation of my brother. He really surprised me because I never thought he could/would assemble an arrangement. He saw me assembling the first arrangement (will show later), and he helped me complete it. As soon as we finished the first arrangement, he proceeded to gather the material to assembled his. He was very particular about the flower and color selection. He selected the white and red roses because mami was always helping someone out. Her actions expressed her love for her fellow man. You needed work, she would hire you. You needed food, she would feed you. You needed shelter, she had a place for you. The red roses also represented her love for nature and animals. If my mother could shelter every stray animal, she would. The purple flowers were to honor her for her devotion to her children. My mom was always there for us. Through the ups and downs, the fears, tears and joys, the achievements and failures…she was there to cheer us on and give advice. She was truly one of a kind.
This is the first arrangement I made. I started it and my brother helped me finish it. The selection of the types of flowers, colors, and textures were very well evaluated as I wanted to convey through it mami’s joy for life and love for her family and friends. Everywhere my mother went, she would talk to people and make friends with someone. Young, and old LOVED her. She loved to joke around, and laugh often. Her joy/laughter is probably what I missed the most of her. I wish I had more of a sense of humor. For mami, every person she met, had a story to tell, and was worth been heard. Every person was beautiful and had talent to share. Every person had potential to achieve and deserved a second, third and fourth chance. Mami was larger than life. She did not no the meaning of “impossibloe or no!”
This is my second arrangement for mom. I had tried to assemble it first unsuccessfully. I could not convey the image I had in my mind to an actual structure. I had to make this particular arrangement to accompany her in her casket during her wake. It was an obsession. I tried to assemble it but I could not get it to look the way I had it in my mind. I prayed about it and had this inspiration. This arrangement came to me in my sleep.
Mami lived life! She overcame challenges left an right. Growing up, I remember she was always trying something new, selling something, building something, and coming up with ideas to expand her businesses. I often wonder where she got all her ideas, energy, and strength. Mami succeeded in everything she did because when a “task/idea/ project” failed, it was not really failure…it was just one way something could not happen. She would eliminate it, and try again. The more I interacted with her, the more I started to apply this train of thought. I have grown in my perseverance thanks to her example.
I love this arrangement. It is classy, beautiful and simple. A few flowers convey a message of love, gratitude, accomplishment and beauty. Mami was one person, one woman, one immigrant, one voice, one community leader, and one troublemaker who came to a country that gave her the opportunity to succeed. She took the opportunity whole-heartily, and succeeded when there was so much going against her.