May 8, 2023

May You Be Well

I’ll start with a couple of brief updates today. I’ve been exploring avenues for selling my cut flowers this year. I tried a setup at Bates Nursery a couple of months ago, and I did sell a few arrangements. Since then, the greenhouse has seen an unprecedented craziness of plants and people, making a cut flower display impossible. On a whim this past March, I filled out an application for a slot at the St. George’s Farmer’s Market in Belle Meade. I never received a follow-up, so I kind of forgot about it. Last Monday, I received an email that welcomed me as a vendor and contained logistics about our first market of the season…which was just three days away! The market occurs at the St. George Episcopal Church in Belle Meade from 3:30-6PM every Thursday May-August. I won’t be able to participate in May, because spring at the nursery is still pretty chaotic, but also because I’m not ready. My market debut will be on June 1st. There’s so much I need to do to prepare: decide on bouquet packaging, get a logo printed for said packaging and business cards, buy a tent for my booth, and design and build a display. I’m excited but also freaking out. Imposter Syndrome has already set in; am I capable of providing a product people will actually want to purchase? I’m even more paranoid about my garden than I was when this was “just a hobby.” I HAVE to have flowers to sell! A crop failure would be devastating.

While I can’t be at the market right now, I have decided to take orders for some small Mother’s Day arrangements. They will be $20 each (because they’re on the small side), and there will be two opportunities for pickup on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. To order, DM me at Melmac Florals on Instagram or on my personal Facebook page.

On the book front, I’ve sent my manuscript back twice now because of typos in the “final” copy. When it comes back again, I’ve decided I’ll just have to find a way to live with whatever typos still exist, or else this book will never see the light of day.

Some of you that follow this blog faithfully (mainly my mother-in-law) have probably been waiting for another post. It’s always harder in spring for me to write consistently; partially because I’m so busy and partially because I’m too exhausted to come up with a subject on which to write. This spring has been more challenging than usual. There are many different reasons for this, some of which I explained in my last post. I’ve gotten a few spring of 2018 vibes; the timing of my last clinical depression diagnosis.

May is Mental Health Month. I’m glad that more people are talking about mental health, but there is still so much stigma attached to this subject. My memoir details my history of depression and anxiety. Though I didn’t receive a diagnosis and treatment until I was 21, the symptoms existed throughout my childhood and adolescence. I’ve been on and off of medication all of my adult life. When I was diagnosed again in 2018, my doctor and I decided I should stay on medication indefinitely. Even on medication, I experience lots of lows. This will be a lifelong struggle for me. Writing about some of the worst lows I ever experienced was excruciating, and it’s terrifying to put those parts of my story out into the world. But I do it because someone out there needs to know that they aren’t alone and that seeking treatment does NOT make them weak. If you are that someone, dear reader, please please PLEASE ask for help. The number for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is 988. There is a light at the end of that deep, dark tunnel. You may not be able to see it yet, but I promise you that it’s there and that there are people who want to help you find it.

Here are the last few Flower Power Friday arrangements along with an example of the Mother’s Day arrangements available for preorder.