Episode 71: How to Stay Sane During The Mother's Day Madness
With flower shops everywhere in full Mother's Day sprint, Vonda and Lori decide the kindest thing they can do is not call anyone — and instead serve up some laughter and a survival plan. Special guest Ellie LaFever joins them to swap Mother's Day memories and share simple, realistic ways to keep your body and brain fueled through the busiest week of the florist year.
Lessons learned the hard way (and memories worth keeping)
Ellie opens with a confession from her first years in the industry: her job included friendly customer check-in calls, and nobody told her not to make them the week of Mother's Day. One shop owner finally let her have it — "Are you serious?" — and Ellie hung up in tears. Lesson learned: she won't be calling anyone this week, and neither should any vendor who loves you.
The memories flow from there. Vonda recalls her very first Mother's Day at the flower shop coinciding with her very first prom — complete with a date who accidentally ordered two corsages. Years later at her own shop, she loved watching dads herd their kids in, the kids beelining for the teddy bears and candy while everyone gently steered toward the cooler. That's exactly why the hosts recommend keeping a trio bundle in mind — flowers, plush, and a treat — so the compromise makes everybody happy while the family still gets the fun of choosing.
The memory that sums up why florists do what they do: two neighborhood kids, maybe eight and ten, who walked in with about twelve dollars in crumpled bills and change to buy flowers for their mom. Vonda's team walked them straight to the biggest arrangement in the cooler — "you saved a lot of money for your mama" — and delivered it a few houses up the street.
Listeners chimed in with card-message classics too, from a husband's romantic postscript promising his wife tacos forever, to a hand-written order where "dad" got transcribed as "dud" ("Thanks for making me a dud"), to Mary Higgins of Accent Flowers in Brentwood, Tennessee, whose most touching order was a mother sending flowers to her kids' stepmother, thanking her for being a great co-mom.
Three things before you brush your teeth
Then it's down to business: staying healthy when stress is highest. As Ellie puts it, stress knocks down your immune system, and a stressed brain reaches for the M&M's, not the apple — so you have to get ahead of it with preparation. Her three-part morning routine takes almost no time:
First, before you even get out of bed, think of three things you're grateful for — no journal required, just bullet points in your head. Second, stretch, in bed or right when you stand up. Third, drink a full glass of water before anything else, because you wake up dehydrated. Lori's trick: no coffee until the water is finished — and she wants the coffee more.
Fuel the day like it's a marathon
Ellie walks through the whole day, meal by meal. Breakfast: skip the sugar cereal and drive-through in favor of fresh fruit, a smoothie, hard-boiled eggs, avocado, or oatmeal — or Lori's beloved bran muffins, made from a batter that keeps in the fridge for weeks so you can bake a fresh few every morning (watch the Flower Clique Instagram and the Business and Pleasure of Flowers Facebook group for the recipe).
Lunch is where the 2 p.m. slump is won or lost: heavy food takes energy to digest, so eat lighter — salads, wraps, or Lori's two-minute version: a tuna packet on pre-washed romaine leaves with avocado, tomato, and chili-lime seasoning. Snacks keep you off the candy machine: apple or celery with peanut butter, carrots and ranch, yogurt and banana — and yes, a little dark chocolate is allowed. Nobody's depriving anybody; balance the treat, just don't crash mid-shift with five hours still to work.
Dinner is the hardest meal to control, so prep ahead: a simple balance of protein, starch, and vegetables — sheet-pan chicken and veggies counts — because the pizza order happens when you're too exhausted to think. This is a shop that once ran on peanut M&M's from Sam's Club candy machines and Diet Coke (Vonda cheerfully confesses to a lifelong Twinkie loyalty), so nobody is preaching perfection. As Ellie reminds everyone: even your worst days only have 24 hours, and you can hit the reset button tomorrow.
Key takeaways
- Start every morning with three gratitudes, a stretch, and a full glass of water — before coffee.
- Eat a light lunch to dodge the afternoon slump, and keep grab-able healthy snacks within reach.
- Prep dinners ahead of holiday week; bad food choices happen when you're exhausted, not when you're weak.
- Treats are fine — balance them, and save the cake for after the shift, not the middle of it.
- Vendors and friends: don't call flower shops the week of Mother's Day. Just don't.
Sponsored by:
Flower Clique
Flower Clique Prep School
Real Life Retail Florist