Who remembers the Must See TV of the late 80s/early 90s? During those years, one of my favorites was Cheers, the fictional show set in a real-life Boston-area bar. The series follows a group of locals who meet to drink, relax, and socialize.
It’s the place “where everybody knows your name.” Every town has one. In Woodstock, GA ours was the Copper Coin.
I say was because we closed our doors forever on September 3rd.
That day was bittersweet, and I still treasure the memories of it in my heart. Messages from friends poured in even as a line snaked out the door from open to close.
A few years ago, I read an article about actress Kirstie Alley, the female lead who begins managing the Cheers bar in Season 6. Some of you might remember that in real life Kirstie Alley battled a multitude of personal problems, including substance abuse. When she got clean, she made herself a promise:
She would spend as much money on fresh flowers for her house every week as she used to spend on drugs.
“Just living is not enough....one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.”
I used to think that fresh flowers were a waste of money. They just don’t last very long, after all.
But that’s a dumb reason not to buy them.
We buy all kinds of things that don’t last very long.
In fact, my whole business was based on people buying something that can often be consumed in one big gulp.
Exhibit A: This 4 oz. cortado
Copper Coin Cortado
I have some friends who hate fresh flowers. When they get them, all they see is death. Ugh! Who wants to trim the stems? Change the water? Pick up the dropped petals from the table? Day by day, you watch them wilt only to finally toss them in the trash.
Trust me. That was me before Copper Coin.
Our flowers arrived every Tuesday.
Sometimes I would find that the previous week’s flowers had been moved to a ledge or the floor to make way for laptops and books.
Even so, as I set the new flowers on table after table, guests would look up from whatever they were doing, smile, and murmur thank you.
The flowers were such a small thing. Even now as I type this in an empty room, the flowers leftover from our last day are making me smile. They’re cheery and bright. And even though they don’t talk, their mere presence says, “Welcome back. I’m glad you’re here.”
Before Copper Coin, I never really thought about fresh flowers. I rarely bought them for my own house. Like I said, I too, used to think they were a big, fat waste. Flowers that lasted just a week seemed like a luxury I could easily forego.
But I already miss my Tuesday flowers.
The Tuesday flowers had a positive effect on our guests. I know this to be true because I saw it every week at Copper Coin: flowers boost mood and reduce stress. They foster contentment in a way only nature can.
No complaints here. Who wouldn’t want more contentment in their life?
As I transition into this new season in my own life, so many things feel out of control. In the last month, the coffee shop closed, my youngest child started high school, my dog died, and today, my younger son left for college in Barcelona.
Flowers on Tuesdays are one of the weekly practices I plan to carry into this scary in-between time fraught with change and uncertainty.
Agency over our own lives is a powerful motivator. When you don’t know what to do, think about the small, seemingly insignificant acts that that you can control.
I can buy flowers on Tuesdays.
Trader Joe’s carries an affordable, seasonal assortment, as does Costco. Both are close to my house. With flowers on my table and contentment in my heart, I’m one step closer to whatever the next step may be.
Here’s a question for you:
What’s one thing you’re doing to exercise more agency over your own chaotic life today?