My Background

My life has always been centered around creativity. As a little girl growing up in a rural community called Raaucule Village in Knoxville TN, my life was a little more special than some because I have a twin sister, Annette, to share childhood memories with.

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As we grew, our mother, a creative genius, instilled in us the power of being resourceful and resilient. Our mother taught us at a young age the art of “making something out of nothing.” She was our Girl Scout leader, thrift store advisor, flower garden carpooler, and pattern cutter expert – ready to train young hands. Growing up in a rural area and with both parents working full time, we had a lot of free time in the summers and plenty of space to explore and experience the farms close by.

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As a teenager, my mother bought me a life-size mannequin head from the local beauty school. She had long flowing hair and all the makeup and brushes a teenage girl could dream of. This became a new and fascinating outlet for my creativity. Going to church was always a pleasure for Annie and me. Our parents let us participate with the youth at church and going to vacation bible school at our sister church was a highlight of summer vacation. I didn’t know it at the time, but this is how I met my future husband, Mel.

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During high school, I attended beauty school while after school I worked in the beauty industry and attended business school. I discovered, as many young people do, that working in a beauty shop was not what I wanted to do. So, I made big changes and went to work in “Corporate America.” I began working in the Accounting Department of a major travel agency that offered foreign currency to customers for their travels all over the world. I fell in love with numbers and keeping track of the daily changes of the currency.

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By this time my husband and I had married and were expecting our first child, Kaylex. All of the excitement of career and family might be a roadblock to some for creative outlets, but I found little, different ways to scratch that artistic itch, like helping friends with birthday parties and special events. Modeling was always a part of my life, even on a really small level. I would help out a good friend and model in her fashion shows each year throughout the city. Other times, I would help out with the hair/make-up for the other models – my favorite part.

I formed great friendships with this group of beautiful people. We modeled together and collaborated for over 10 years, forming priceless, lifelong friendships and business connections. Not only were they models; they were the movers and shakers in our city. As time passed, we received great news. Mel received a promotion at work and I was expecting our son Malik. Then, we both went through a job change. I was able to get on with our school district as a bookkeeper at a brand new high school.

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Getting a job with the school system was kind of tough. I took a big pay cut but I was able to stay home with the kids during the holidays, summers, and snow days. This really worked out since Mel was traveling five days a week. We were so excited about our new beginnings. During this time, I experienced creativity in a brand new way – with my kids. I was teaching our children the same lessons my mother taught my twin sister and me – “making something out of nothing.” From growing sunflowers each summer to helping Kaylex decorate her graduation cap to doing Malik’s makeup for his Halloween costume, my children renewed my creative energy.

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As Mel traveled every week, I began noticing that he was losing weight and he just didn’t look well. Each weekend he would return home and his breathing would seem more labored than the weekend before. Just walking to events with kids winded him and he tired really easily. After several doctor appointments and months of him seeming not to get better, doctors finally came up with a diagnosis and suggestions on what steps to take next. Sitting in a large conference room with doctors, nurses, experts, and the insurance company on speakerphone is as nerve-wracking as you would imagine it to be.

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The first doctor said, “Mr. & Mrs. Robinson, your husband has polymyositis.” (An autoimmune inflammatory disease of muscle that begins when white blood cells spontaneously invade muscles, especially those closest to the trunk or torso.) “The disease has damaged his lungs and Mel will need a lung transplant. Mel is looking at three years to live.” A man with a deep voice comes across the speakerphone and begins a series of questions that are still mind-blowing to me. He needed to know if we had $100,000.00 in the bank and did we have a private jet or plane or access to one within 24 hours’ notice. He also proceeded to tell us that Mel had appointments with Duke University and the Cleveland Clinic.

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They would examine Mel and test to see if they are willing to do the transplant. Of course, we were overwhelmed with the information we just received. After digesting the information over the next several months, which consisted of hospital visits, doctor’s appointments, and testing, you wait. Finally, the tests and results come back. In short, my husband’s chances to survive a transplant were very slim. The hospitals and clinics wouldn’t take a chance on losing him in the transplant process.

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So, we got creative and invented plan B. Find the best team of doctors that know this disease. Mel and I did research about his diet and his sleeping habits. With a circle of love from our family to our church family, close friends, and the best doctors in our city, he is a living testimony. It’s now 12 years later and dealing with sickness is not easy; he has some bad days but the good days outweigh the bad.

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As 2020 came to pass, our youngest Malik was set to graduate high school and had been awarded a full 4-year football scholarship in KY. Mom turned 75 and Annie and I planned to take her mom to Niagara Falls. Mel and I were also secretly planning a beach trip to celebrate our empty nest. Then Covid-19 hit. The new school year was starting and all we heard about were masks and the unknown. The number of people dying growing daily. No one knew much at first: how the virus would spread, was it airborne, how long did it live on surfaces, how should we sanitize things, could our dog Jack get it or be a carrier? There were so many questions. Prom was canceled and graduation was not looking good.

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All of this made my anxiety rise daily. All I could think of was, “we have gotten this far with Mel’s disease and this virus is going to kill him and more than likely it would be me giving it to him because I’m around kids daily at the high school.” We were making it through day by day, sanitizing everything, undressing in the garage, and running to the shower after each school day. I drove Malik crazy about wearing his mask and washing his hands. It was his senior year and he wanted to hang out with friends; football season was in full swing. But in the back of my mind, all I could think about was: “We can’t let this virus beat us. We have to stay safe.”

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My family could see that I was very worried. I expressed it daily to everyone. I put signs up on my office door, I placed a fan directly in front of the staff’s face when sitting at my desk. They would blink really hard but never said a negative word. Our principal had a virtual meeting to just make sure the staff was ok with the changes and just to check in with everyone. Well, I was the first to break down in tears. I expressed how scared I was of bringing this home to Mel. Everyone was supportive and was great about me asking them to sanitize upon entering and me occasionally spraying them with disinfect. I couldn’t have asked for better coworkers.

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How it started

It was a week before my mother’s 75th birthday and all plans were canceled due to the lockdown in our state. Annie and I were frantic trying to figure out ideas of what to get a person who has everything in the middle of a pandemic. Somehow we came up with the idea of a money tree. That night I went to bed with the idea. I dreamed of the arrangement and how to fold the bills to make it easy to take apart and spend them. That morning, I went to the craft store and came straight home to start on this project. I stayed up all night trying to get it perfect. After putting the finishing touches on it, I placed the arrangement on the kitchen bar and went to bed.

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I got up late the next morning and came into the kitchen. Mel and Malik were standing in front of the arrangement looking at it. Before I could open my mouth, Mel said “Yvette, you have a gift from God. This is beautiful.” He said they could not stop looking at it. “It looks so real,” he commented. Even though I was exhausted from being up all night, making and remaking flowers, arranging and rearranging them; I felt good. My anxiety didn’t feel so overwhelming. I really felt like my pre-Covid self. Later that evening, we took the gift to Mom’s house and I sat it on her dining room table. She sat down in front of it and said “Oh this is a nice flower arrangement.” I told her to look closely. I explained, “It’s real money with a total of $75. You can easily take it apart and spend it.” Now my mother is not a crier – at all. But I saw tears! And of course, seeing her tears made me cry.

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I prayed for so long asking “what is my gift?” and my mother confirmed right at that moment. Annie and I both posted a picture of mom’s money arrangement on social media and the next thing I knew people began calling my mom and messaging us through our social media accounts. I’m happy to say we are celebrating a year of custom money arrangements gift giving and I owe it all to those resourceful and creative lessons that have followed me my entire life.

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Many thanks to my family and friends who have encouraged and supported me in this endeavor. You all mean the world to me.