Blooming Beautiful

Although I wasn't able to see some of my children in person for Mother's Day, that didn't mean they weren't thinking of me.  Yesterday afternoon there was a knock on the front door.  Son Donald answered it and came back holding a long cardboard box emblazoned with the logo of an e-commerce florist.  

The box was addressed to me!  Inside there was an arrangement of tulips and iris wrapped in florist cellophane nestled inside a vase, with a small box of chocolates next to it.  The card from Son Brian and DIL Nicole wished me a happy Mother's Day.  A sticker on the cellophane sleeve told me how to take care of my new gift:  cut the flower stems and remove the lower leaves, then put them in the vase with room temperature water (leaving the plastic sleeve on for eight house to support them while they absorbed the water).

I kinda followed the directions, but I was so excited to see my blooms I pulled the cellophane partway down:

In the beginning the tulips were open a tiny bit, but the iris were completely closed.  This morning both were nicely opened:

My flowers are guaranteed to last for seven days.  So far the cats have shown no interest in them, so there's a fighting chance of that happening.