Sunday, April 19, 2009
Posted by
Dea'
at
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Hm, a life less loaded. Ha, now there's a loaded statement! ;)
Here we are, month 4 of the whole 'post layoff thinking about a new life' and week 5 of actually walking it out. This weekend I was realizing again how crazy it is that we're actually doing this thing, we're really 'here'. Jack Johnson (great soundtrack for life these days) has this one line where he states, "Don't let your dreams be dreams...". That really hit me yesterday. it seems that so many things in my life are just dreams and ideals and words. I long to write (and be published!), I hope to create a home, I want to regain health and fitness, etc. Too often I chatter away about things without following those sounds with action.
Jeremy and I have 'talked coffee' since we began dating. Over the years we have drawn up blueprints for our shop, compared recipes for baking, soups, and sandiwiches, discussed leadership styles and organization, and wrestled with foundational points of purpose and presentation. We've dreamed, talked, and hoped. In the midst of that, we've pursued education, family, and an increasingly eclectic mix of experiences.
Making a life through coffee has always been one of those 'somedays', "maybe when we're 60...". The tough reality is that any food service endeavor seems to need a lot of capital, which we have never held, and the whole deal has seemed out of reach. Yet somehow, in this bizarre move and year, we find ourselves working with coffee and looking towards a shop. To be honest, I'm not really sure how this all came to be. I mean, one month I'm teaching, he's apprenticing, and we're longterm Albertans, the next we're floating and planning out house cleaning, then a day later we awake to find ourselves knee deep in coffee beans with a valley of new folks welcoming us into a life of small green business connections.
Somehow, some of the most difficult months we have ever faced in our lives are growing into a life dream we thought was out of reach for decades to come. Granted, we still don't have the capital needed to take the next step and we've only really sold a few pounds of beans, but there is something very very good brewing (ha, brewing!) . There's something about our story or approach or something that is connecting with people out here. We're not out to become 'big time', we want to contribute something good to our world, and we're giving it everything we've got.
Within it all there is a growing sense of satisfaction and 'fit'. Our days are packed with hard work, but we believe in what we're doing and we think we just might make it. And on those days when it's a bit bleak, well, at least we have a good cup of coffee on hand.
(The pics are us enjoying spring on Easter weekend, and our first trade show)
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2 comments:
This suits you! I could totally see you make all your yummy treats in a little local coffee shop one day! Wow- Yup this really suits you.
Glad you made a friend. Yeah for good beans. ( My hubby wishes he was there to expereience it all)
Nice pics
I commend you, I admire you, I envy you (in a righteous way). Nik and I have so many dreams too, but pass them off because we're scared. Lately I've been convicted to look at my dreams and really pray about which ones are just idols to me that I'm chasing or dreaming of. Anyways, I'm learning, and praying and hoping that God has more for me than just Thunder Bay. But if he doesn't, "just Thunder Bay" will be good enough for me....I think.
Dana
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