Not so pretty flowers

A few weeks ago I went to a funeral home to visit with a friend who had lost a family member. I made my way to the viewing room and found my friend. We greeted each other with a hug, she took my hand and we made our way to the casket.
Being a florist, I looked at the casket spray.....I could hardly take my eyes off the arrangement. It had to be the most hideous casket spray that I had ever seen. In all my years in the floral industry I have never seen a spray designed so pitiful. It was like they had just taken the flowers, threw them and where ever they landed that's where they left them.
The greens where old and the flowers weren't far behind. The ribbons were stuck in like they were ready to explode. I was ashamed for the family. Did other folks think they chose that design. My friend noticed I was staring...she squeezed my hand & whispered in my ear, "I know they are ugly, yours are always beautiful."
Designing casket sprays is my favorite floral arrangement. I take great pride in designing a spray and I put a lot of love into it. These flowers are placed on the casket and it reflects the deceased. I figured up I have designed close to 450 sprays. Thomas says I'm to picky. I tell him- being picky has nothing to do with it. I never get in a hurry and I put love and feelings into the design. I place the ribbons to lay ever so gently down the side. These ribbons carry the names...Mom, Loving Wife, Grandma, Nanny, Daughter.
Today, I designed a spray of all red roses for a Grandma who the family said, she was the most precious Grandma in the world. I designed her spray just as they said...for a most precious Grandma.