Buying Flowers for my Man

Flowers are for men, too.

I once read a story of a woman who wanted to buy flowers for her husband. She did buy a flower: a cauliflower to be exact. She put it in a flower pot. I like cauliflowers, but I prefer them in creamy, coconut-y curries or soups. Or generously sprinkled with fried breadcrumbs as a side dish. 

Where was I? Oh yes, flowers. I don’t know when I began to buy my husband flowers. I guess we live close to a florist’s and my daughter thought that buying flowers for daddy is kind of fun.

So, we bought him flowers. White and orange and red and pink flowers. Nice flowers, all wrapped up and with a fancy ribbon. He liked them. He even put them into a vase, and so a new tradition was born.

I don’t do it every day. I just do it when I feel like it. I also did it when his grandmother died. I did it when he was sick. I did it for our wedding anniversary.

One day, I was walking home, groceries in one hand and a bouquet of flowers in the other. I met a neighbour. I told him: “And so I was out shopping and bought this and that and some flowers for my husband.” He was surprised, and jokingly remarked that his wife never buys him flowers.

We somehow assume that flowers are for women and that men should be the ones to buy them. We assume that flowers are not manly. While we buy flowers for the sick, and for friends when they’re getting married or moving into a new apartment, what wife actually buys flowers for her husband?

I do. And not edible flowers (though I do buy them too, and make wonderful yummy food out of them), but nice, beautiful, sweet-smelling fancy flowers. I like watching his eyes light up and the smile on his face.

You see, my husband loves getting flowers. Yes, manliness, and a love of flowers go very well together. But to tell the truth, this isn’t even about being masculine or feminine. It is about doing the things the other person enjoys. But that is not the only reason why I buy these flowers. I also buy them for myself. I happen to like flowers and if I waited for him to buy me some, I’d still be waiting.

And I also buy them for our house. You see, our place is quite bare. We have simple, light furniture. But we do have some pictures on the walls, and flowers in the vase. The vase stands on the window sill in the kitchen and I love the way it adds a little colour to our otherwise very white house. I love it that they’re in the kitchen because I can look at them when I cook.

Valentine’s Day is coming. I have no idea what I’ll cook. Whatever I’ll decide to make, it isn’t likely to involve a cauliflower. But I know for sure what I’ll buy for my husband.