This weekend I received flowers at my door, two weeks after Mom's funeral. The timing was absolutely perfect! They really boosted my mood.

Makes one think, doesn't it?

Belatedly, I had emailed Mom's obit to my friend in Chicagoland, with a personal note. He responded with the flowers, and his own sweet note.

So glad I didn't inform him earlier: The impact of his response was so much better, after this time had elapsed.

Since the funeral was 2200 miles away, most of us family didn't keep any flowers, except for a few to dry for the scrapbooks.

This weekend's flowers were not in a "funeral arrangement." Just a lovely, vased bouquet.

Perhaps some of us should make this our new tradition: Instead of sending flowers to the funeral, intentionally wait a few weeks, and send some to the home or office. They may bring a tear to an eye, but more importantly, I bet they will also bring a twinkle because of the unexpectedness.

Definitely was a well-paced wave of support.

Of course, such pacing doesn't have to be tied to a funeral. We can do the same a few weeks after someone comes out of the hospital, or has experienced other stress ... or just because.

Come to think of it (or a P.S. to my P.S.), I used to send a boyfriend flowers "just because." He loved it! (And yes, he reciprocated, at the sweetest of times.)  I especially loved doing it because (ahem) ... he lived in a small town, where the flowers were really (really!) dirt cheap. (Oops. Did I actually write that?)