Men Like Receiving Flowers, Too
Who's to say that floral arrangements are only a gift for women?
“Can I get these wrapped up?” I asked the young woman at the floral counter, presenting a dozen red roses.
“Absolutely! Oh, these are just gorgeous! Who are they for?”
I smiled, “It’s my fiancé’s birthday today.”
“Aww, that’s so swet! I’m sure she’ll love them.”
I didn’t skip a beat. “Actually, my fiancé is a man. He’s never been given flowers before. Poor guy is missing out.”
A slight moment of hesitation, and she returned my smile politely.
“Well that’s sweet, I’m sure he’ll love them.”
He’s been missing out, because I never took the time to ask until now.
My birthday was two months ago.
I walked out of the shower and was greeted by my partner holding a bouquet of white and red roses, wishing me a happy birthday.
At the time, I took them with a big smile, and said,
“Ah! Thank you! Flowers make me feel so special!”
In the three years we’ve been together, my partner has gifted me flowers for my birthdays and on our anniversaries.
As I was trimming the ends off of the roses, and arranging them in a vase, I asked my fiancé if he would enjoy receiving flowers.
“Yeah, that would actually be great. No one has ever given me flowers before.”
I made a mental note for his birthday several months in the future.
The smile on his face needed no words.
As my partner walked through the front door yesterday, I jumped from behind the corner with a dozen red roses and screamed, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”
His eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. He took the bouquet, and looked at it, and smelled it, and was absolutely beaming.
“Thank you! Wow, these make me feel so special!”
My partner is a sensitive soul. He is strong and knows what he wants and takes charge in his work or when it’s a topic he really cares about.
He also craves deeper and more sentimental relationships with other men in his life — often describing most of those relationships currently as shallow to a certain point, due to society’s expectation of men keeping their feelings on the DL.
“The only way the guys will talk about their feelings is when they’re drunk… it actually makes really sad that’s the case.”
Let’s drop the gender-stereotyped bull, please.
My partner, by first look, isn’t the type you would expect to enjoy receiving a bouquet of roses.
But that just shows you can’t judge a book by its cover.
Under the muscled gym-bro exterior, there is a die-hard romantic. Right next to the skull tattoos on his arm to represent his mortality, are a half dozen roses, which he openly describes as embracing and respecting his feminine side.
Now, I admit that I also fell victim to this. After all, this was the first time in three years I’ve ever bought my partner flowers.
In fact, it was the first time I’d ever bought any man flowers.
Because you don’t buy flowers for dudes, right?
Wrong.
It’s time to change this dialogue to be a little more inclusive.
Final word.
It warmed my heart to watch him attentively trim the edges and arrange his bouquet in a vase, taking great care to display them proudly.
Once they were sitting in our living room, he came over and hugged me again.
“I really enjoy being given flowers.”
I squeezed him tighter, “Duly noted, my love.”
A new tradition has been made. And it makes both of us feel equally special. ❤
Are there any men in your life who would enjoy receiving a bouquet of flowers? Have you ever taken the time to ask?
