November is my birthday month, which means two things at the same time: celebration and chaos. The holidays start creeping in, sales season kicks up, and as a small business owner, the calendar is suddenly full. It becomes very easy to skip over my own milestones to make sure everyone else feels celebrated and taken care of.
For a long time, that was my norm. I showed up for every event, every market, every customer, and pushed my own birthday to the side. I told myself I was “grinding” and “building.” In reality, I was teaching myself to move past my own needs and call it normal.
Now that I run Pink Pothos, a houseplant retail shop and community space in Atlanta, and I’ve learned that ignoring my own celebrations does not make me stronger. It makes me depleted. So this year, I’ve been intentional about two things: honoring my birthday as a real moment of growth and staying deeply thankful for the people and plants that carry me through every season.
Why November Birthdays Hit Different
A birthday in November lands right at the edge of endings and beginnings. The year is almost over, but the new year is close enough to feel real. The air cools down, the days get shorter, and everything in nature slows its pace.
My plants remind me of that every single day. As we get less light, growth slows. Some leaves yellow and drop. Some plants go quiet at the surface while roots do work underground. Nothing is “wrong”; the season simply changed.
My life moves the same way. Some years come with loud wins that everyone sees. Others come with quiet character development, hard choices, and work nobody claps for. A November birthday gives me a built-in pause button. I sit inside the tension of both: what I lost, what I gained, and what I want to build next.
Redefining What a Birthday Celebration Looks Like as an Adult
As an adult, a birthday can feel like another item on the to-do list: make plans, post the picture, answer the texts, keep it cute. As a business owner, that list expands: plan an event, show up for customers, be “on” for everyone.
This year, I decided my birthday celebration had to go deeper than cake and cute photos. I wanted it to match the kind of life I am building: intentional, rooted, and honest about how hard and beautiful this journey actually is.
For me, that looks like this:
-Making space in the shop to thank customers and community, not just sell to them.
-Hosting events where people feel seen, not rushed.
-Letting my birthday be a checkpoint, not a performance.
The celebration still includes fun, music, drinks, and plants everywhere. The difference is that I also give myself permission to feel proud, tired, grateful, and growing all at once.
Lesson 1: The Quiet Work Still Counts
Entrepreneurship comes with loud moments: big events, sold-out markets, features, and photos that make everything look glossy. It also comes with quiet grind: late-night planning, moving inventory, cleaning up soil, answering emails, and pushing through when numbers feel tight.
My birthday always brings this reality to the front. I think about the parts no one claps for. The days I wanted to cancel the event. The mornings I unlocked the shop while running on fumes. The times I questioned if all of this was “worth it.”
Here’s what I know: the quiet work still counts. The small, unglamorous tasks add up to real growth, the same way slow root growth eventually turns into a full, thriving plant. I stay thankful for the pieces nobody sees because those are the ones that built my backbone.
Lesson 2: Gratitude Is a Practice, Not a Caption
Every November, timelines fill with “thankful” posts. Gratitude looks good online. The real work is living it in the everyday.
In my world, gratitude looks like:
-Saying thank you to the people who show up for every event, even in the rain or cold.
-Remembering the vendors, partners, and friends who took a chance on me when Pink Pothos was still an idea.
-Being honest that I do not do this alone, even when it feels like I carry a lot by myself.
-Allowing myself to receive support instead of acting like I am fine all the time.
I use plants as my reminder. When I water, I pause and think about one thing I am grateful for that week. When I repot, I name one thing I am outgrowing. Those tiny rituals keep gratitude from turning into a seasonal performance and keep it grounded in my daily life.
Lesson 3: Celebrating Growth in Real Terms
Gratitude hits different when it comes with receipts. On my birthday, I try to name my growth in very specific ways instead of just saying “this year was a lot.”
That can look like:
- Counting how many workshops, pop-ups, or markets I hosted.
- Naming one way I became a better leader or communicator.
- Recognizing a hard boundary I finally enforced.
- Admitting where I still need help and support.
These things do not always show up on social media. They live in my notes app, in late-night reflections, and in the way my space feels when people walk into Pink Pothos. Measuring my growth in real terms keeps me grounded and thankful, even when the year felt heavy.
Birthday + Plants: Rituals You Can Steal
If you are a November baby too, or you are just in a season of reflection, here are a few birthday rituals you can borrow and make your own:
The Birthday Plant: Choose one plant to represent the new year of your life. Care for it the way you want to care for yourself: consistent attention, gentle adjustment, no shame for slow growth.
Gratitude Potting Station: Take a small pot, write a few things you are grateful for on slips of paper, and place them at the bottom before adding soil and a plant. Every time you see that plant, remember the foundation you planted it on.
Annual Repot Check-In: Once a year, ask yourself the same questions you ask about plant roots: do I feel cramped? Root-bound? Ready for a bigger container? Then decide what needs to shift.
Community Roll Call: Make a short list of people who truly poured into you this year. Send a message, voice note, or invite, and let them know they matter.
None of this has to be perfect. It just has to be honest.
How I’m Saying “Thank You” at Pink Pothos
Every November at Pink Pothos, my birthday and the season of thankfulness overlap. That combination shapes how I show up in the shop and in the community.
It looks like:
- Planning events that feel like a warm living room, not a transaction.
- Using promotions or special offers as a genuine thank you, not just a sales tactic.
- Creating space for people to share their own plant stories, not just walk out with a new pot.
- Remembering that every sale, every workshop sign-up, and every “I brought a friend to see your shop” keeps this dream alive.
The gratitude is real. My life looks completely different because people chose to support this little plant shop, follow along, show up, and keep coming back. I carry that with me into every new year of my life.
This Year’s Second Annual Plantsgiving
This November hit extra special because we just wrapped our second annual Plantsgiving at the shop, and it was a whole love fest. The space was full from wall to wall – plants, people, laughter, repotting soil everywhere – the good kind of chaos. Folks pulled up with friends, came ready to shop, sip, repot, and just be in community, and I felt it in my chest the entire time.
We had people hanging out at the repotting station, writing gratitudes, picking out plants like little trophies for everything they made it through this year. I spent half the night hugging people, answering plant questions, and watching strangers turn into “I’ll see you next time” regulars. That’s the part that gets me every time.
Plantsgiving is technically an event, but for me it’s proof of what we’re building here: a space where people feel safe, celebrated, and seen. Seeing everyone choose to spend their time and money with Pink Pothos – especially during a busy holiday weekend – is not something I ever take lightly. I’m deeply grateful for every single person who showed up, brought a friend, reposted a flyer, or just stood in the corner soaking up the energy. Y’all made this year’s birthday and this season of gratitude feel very, very real.
Closing Thoughts: Another Year, Deeper Roots
Another birthday means another ring in the tree trunk, another layer of roots, another year of trying, learning, and adjusting. Some years feel lush. Some feel like survival mode. All of them matter.
This November, I am grateful for:
- The community that continues to believe in me and Pink Pothos.
- The chances I took, even when my hands were shaking.
- The plants that keep teaching me patience, resilience, and the beauty of slow growth.
- The version of me that started this journey, even when she had no idea how it would unfold.
If you are reading this, consider this your reminder to celebrate yourself a little louder this season and to ground that celebration in real gratitude, not just aesthetics.
Let this be the year you honor your growth as seriously as you honor everyone else’s.