Monday – A Sip of Flava

This morning I woke up thinking about a dream that stayed with me.

I was back in the very first flower shop I worked in when I was about twelve years old. Sonia’s flower shop in our community. In the dream the shop was full of color and life. Flowers everywhere, balloons floating around, customers coming in and out. It felt busy in the best way.

But the interesting thing was… I wasn’t the twelve-year-old girl anymore.

In the dream I was the woman I am now.

Suppliers were lined up outside delivering product. One of them brought roses that were clearly bad. I looked at him and said, “You know those roses are bad. I can’t sell those. Take them off the invoice. Don’t worry about replacing them.”

And that was that.

No hesitation. No confusion. Just a decision.

The shop was flowing, customers were happy, and everything felt organized. I was on top of what was happening. Calm. In control. Running the room.

Then Sonia looked at me — almost in awe — like she was seeing the young girl who once worked in her shop and realizing she had grown into a strong business-minded woman.

When I woke up, I realized something.

That little flower shop was where a lot of my work ethic started. I didn’t just learn how to arrange flowers. I learned how businesses move, how product comes in, how customers are served, and how important quality and integrity are.

Over the years that knowledge carried me through many different chapters.

Working in flower shops in our community.

Running floral departments for Safeway for seven years.

Working in the largest wholesale florist and running an arrangement department there.

Training Safeway floral managers how to design.

Starting my own freelance design work with A Touch of Sunshine.

Looking back, I realize I’ve always had the same approach to work.

Learn it well.
Do it right.
And take pride in what you create.

In most jobs I’ve had, I eventually became someone people went to for help or answers. Not because I knew everything — but because I cared enough to understand how things worked.

This morning’s dream reminded me of something simple.

Skills travel with you.

Even when life changes industries, jobs, and chapters… the lessons you learn early on still shape the way you move through the world.

That young girl in the flower shop didn’t know where life would take her.

But she was paying attention.

And that made all the difference.

Sometimes the dreams we have are just little reminders of how far we’ve come.

Lady Flava