The hissy-fit statement was sort of tongue-in-cheek, Alice.
We have dear friends (I'm basically talking about the guys) that are our age who have absolutely no hobbies and few interests. Most of them were golfers, some avid and some who played only to get out of the house and be with their friends. Few of them now play at all, after hip, knee, and shoulder replacements and/or bad backs. A few were hunters or fishers, but again, because of physical issues, can't follow those interests very well. Mostly, most of these old friends just stay home (sometimes with a book), sitting in front of a computer or TV, watching the world go by.
I never played golf, though sort of considered taking up the sport when I was in my 30's. My golfing friends told me not to do so. I had a type A personality and was something of a perfectionist (and still am, but have "softened" over the years), and they said that the sport would tear me apart. Whether true or not, I listened to them and never played. I was a hunter and hunted most of the wild game in North America. I've killed enough animals and don't care to harm another creature. I sold the majority of my "arsenal". I was also an avid fisher, mostly big-time, offshore fishing, but that eventually, physically, wore me out. I donated my yacht to my university to be used in marine research.
All along, I grew tropicals, though I wasn't in a tropical or subtropical area. It was simply a hobby during my working years, but when I retired eight years ago, it became my avocation, something I became pretty passionate about. I simply couldn't sit at home doing nothing, so to give me something meaningful to do, I began 'Tropical Plants & More'.
My wife has always been a great supporter of my horticultural interests. She understands that I have a need to be active and to have accomplishments. She has an ulterior motive as well. She's an artist and loves to paint my tropical flowers. She does worry about me at my age and wouldn't want to see me involve myself with that business again, other than at a greatly reduced level. She knows I enjoy meeting and talking with folks about what I do and also understands that when I sell a plant, I consider that a fulfillment of my efforts. So, she wouldn't throw a fit if I purchased orchids again, but you better believe that she would caution me not to go overboard.
She knows that the last full year of 'Tropical Plants & More' (2017) wore me out and she doesn't want to have that happen again. By the way, I shipped out over 700 boxes of plants that year alone, mostly orchids.
As I said, time will tell whether I will even purchase plants at wholesale again. I've come close a couple of times, and then, after putting together an order, I got cold feet before the order was placed.
