my floral class - sympathy flowers.

photo courtesy of jefffrenchdesigns.com

I've started my flowers for sympathy class. There are only four of us taking the course, which is surprising and not at the same time. Let me tell you a little bit about the characters that make up my class. 

First, we have the Russian woman who runs a funeral home. She's been in all of the floral classes I've taken and is hilarious. She told a story last night of how she never goes into the room where they prepare the body, because of a horrific experience she had. She went into a lot of detail. Too much detail. I also have reason to suspect she is one of those mail order brides. 

Second, we have the very vibrant African American woman whose daughter is just starting out as a mortician. She is taking the course because she is helping with the flowers and doing the accounting. Very eclectic woman. She also shared a gruesome story of a young girl who had died. But rest assured, her daughter "fixed her up real nice."

Finally, we have the Japanese woman who barely speaks English. She has been taking flower classes, because her mom passed away two years ago and she did everything with her mother. She said that she has too much free time now so "she learn how to do flower."

I guess I'm not too surprised there aren't more people taking the class. Death is a very sensitive subject and often makes people very uncomfortable. If you are that kind of person - this class is not for you. Too much story telling around those parts to leave with a settled stomach. On the plus side, though, I am learning a skill that I think will be beneficial to give as service to people who have loved ones pass away.

Check out the picture at the top of this post. This guy makes sympathy flowers look chic and the total opposite of what you traditionally think of. Aren't those flowers to die for?