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This is Work – Flowers


February is in the heart of winter and nothing brightens the mood more than Valentine’s Day. Whether you have someone to love or are just loving yourself to the fullest, it is hard to ignore the reds and pinks in the world around you. Valentine’s Day is a huge business. From candy, flowers, cards, and date night fun, this holiday keeps the economy super busy.

Where I live, if you want to see flowers in February, you will have to get them from the florist, mail order, or grocery store. It is too cold to grow your own this time of year. It takes a small city of people to get those flowers to the store. It is hard to ignore something that keeps so many people employed.

From the floral department at the large store or local florists, the retail side is just one small part of the industry. Before they were artfully arranged to entice me to buy them, they were grown and shipped to my industry. February may seem like a strange time to think about agricultural workers, but to make it to the store in time for Valentine’s Day, they had to be grown and shipped well before this date.

All would not be possible without the agricultural workers somewhere who grew them, the transportation system that had to be speedy, refrigerated, and efficient in order to get something so fragile to the store still looking beautiful and perfect, and hands down the people who developed all the technology to make all these things possible. I am not even sure the flowers sold in the United States at Valentine’s Day would be possible without all technology and global economy to make it happen. I looked online and discovered the state of California grows the most roses of all the states and still that is not enough. Even more are imported from South America, so we have enough flowers for everyone who wants them.

If you are not a fan of flowers and you just pass them by in the store or keep driving when you see them being sold on the side of the road, you may not give the flowers a second glance. Still before they become a gift for someone’s loved one, so many nameless workers have made them possible in order to make one day special. One small bunch of flowers brings a smile to your loved one and those that have jobs all because you chose to buy them. #thisiswork

~Karen Cirincione

Email: kcirincione@gmail.com        

Linked In: www.linkedin.com/in/karenjcirincione

Twitter: @kcirincione 

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