How to Celebrate amid a Pandemic

Just like everyone else, we at Afterall Floral are exploring new ways to navigate reality during the COVID-19 health crisis. We jump from chaotic questioning of the future to moments of deep gratitude for what we have and can hold today. This week, one realization pumped the brakes on our daily emotional roller coaster:

The date was Monday, April 13th: our business birthday. 

This day marks our beginnings as an official floral studio, with the LLC paperwork and bank account to prove it. At times, growing a small business can feel like raising a child: a shared responsibility you love more than anything; something you nurture with with everything you have (and some things you don’t have). You look into the future and do what you can to create a path to success, equally nervous and excited to see where it leads. So when your business birthday rolls around, you celebrate, right? 

In this current climate, ordering sushi and popping a bottle of bubbly seems out of place. Like many of you, we questioned how to appropriately celebrate during a pandemic. Do we reschedule? Do we celebrate virtually? Does anyone care about a business birthday? Does that last part even matter? 

So here’s what we did: we gathered up the little piles of courage we’ve been building since our creation and we held them tight. We listened to the quiet rain falling outside, thought of the plants soaking up the soil’s nutrients, and did the same. A quiet marinade in time passed, lessons learned, successes celebrated, connections strengthened. Through reflection comes growth. As we reflected on what worked and what didn’t, we sowed the seeds for a successful season next year. 

Then, we literally sowed seeds. Cosmos, Queen Ann’s Lace, Snapdragons, Gazania, and Zinnia to name a few favorites. We hope that by the time these flowers root and rise, their petals will unfurl to a safer world. This gentle act of celebration was just what we needed. Just like the first day we started our company, we still do not know what the future holds… and that’s just fine. Happy birthday business - we know you’ll make it, after all.