How to buy car tyres for her birthday (and get away with it!)

Once upon a time, Mike bought Michelle tyres for her birthday…

“There’s one Valentines’ Day celebration which still stands out for me. We were dating at the time, when Mike totally surprised me with a lovely Tequila bottle containing a half a dozen beautiful red roses. It looked like he planned the whole thing in advance – there’s no way he got a local flower shop to put roses in a Tequila bottle! I was ecstatic because he had taken the time, and made the effort – he didn’t need to spend money on chocolates or teddy bears (heaven forbid) or cards.

Let’s just say Mike is not someone who ‘tows the line’ when it comes to commercial ‘celebrations’ like Valentines Day and Mothers Day. That’s something I understand completely, although it took me a few years to get used to it! I appreciate that he is not overly sentimental either, which is why he got five stars for effort in my books with his roses in the bottle surprise!

To give you some background, one birthday years ago he gave me a ‘fresh new set’ of five tyres for my Toyota Corolla… Mike was proud to have thought of getting me the extra fifth tyre as a spare. He didn’t understand why I wasn’t as enthused as he’d expected. I was young and naive back then, but when I think back I realise that, in essence, his intention with the tyres was to secure my safety. It was his unique love language. Having worked in the car industry, he recognised and addressed the threat before it became an issue.

Lovely right? Well, sort of… But when years later he got me the bottle and flowers for Valentine’s Day, I knew that he could express himself in other ways too. He made an effort just for me. I still have that old Tequila bottle, and I occasionally break it out when I plan a special dinner occasion for him. I’m probably sentimental enough for the both of us, so we complement each other perfectly.

Since then there have been countless times when Mike would present me with a bouquet of flowers. Like many women, I absolutely love receiving flowers, in any fashion, shape or form, and I am always appreciative of these expressions of love and gratitude. Of course, nowadays they are prompted by our daughter, but I know that he does everything else himself. He goes out of his way for me, his wife, and I always make an effort to show my appreciation.

What I have learned over time, is that we should absolutely never take anyone (or anything) for granted. Take the time and make the effort to tell the people who make up your world that you love and value them – let them know that you appreciate them being a part of your life. Within an instant, everything can change. I love this quote:

“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” — ROBERT BRAULT

For anyone reading this, I hope that you have the time to tell the special people in your life what they mean to you. Take action, spend the time and show them.” Michelle Waters At Victoria’s Flowers, we believe the important ingredient that creates happiness and connection is GIVING. When you give flowers to someone, everyone wins! The person receiving flowers feels appreciated, which makes them happy, and you experience the joy of giving and making someone else’s day. That in turn, makes you happy!

We believe that there is a strong connection between giving and happiness – that feeling you get when you give someone something? That’s golden… But there are some people (particularly men) who need a nudge in the right direction. Mike is one of these people – although, on occasion, he has been known to extend himself!

– A Story by Julie Purkis and John Paul Lopez Taberdo