The Little Victories
For the last few weeks, I've had the best kind of problem. The kind that launches my smile from ear to ear and makes my feet do a dance. When it happened again this week, I thought, what better way to celebrate the little things than to share them with everyone who’s been a part of this adventure. Not the dance, though. That's truly embarrassing.
The menu page is too short.
Two years ago, a woman walked into The Bakery mid-morning and looked, frustrated and disappointed, at the sold-out pastry case. Then she turned to Mr. Amazing and said, in a very stern tone, "if you would just bake more, we would buy more". He did his best to explain that I was the only baker, and my two hands could only make so much. That we were incredibly grateful for the community's support and, given the opportunity, would keep trying to get better. Then she said something that still, to this day, rings in my ears. She said, "no one cares, just make more" as she walked out.
She probably didn't know that I was just on the other side of the bakery's wall, scrubbing through a pile of dishes I couldn't see over, after an endless string of eighteen-hour baking days. All while squeezing in my full-time day job and scraping every found penny to buy ingredients. I was still doing everything in the tiny space of the original B&B kitchen, equipped with about 4 feet of counter space and one oven. And I had been fighting, day after day, week after week, month after month to keep up with the growing support that truly meant the world to me. On that day, it was genuinely all I could do. And, when I had nothing else to give and still left her disappointed, I sat on the kitchen floor and cried.
Moments like this are part of the journey to little victories like today. And they make it just a little sweeter. The days when normal people get up, one more time, and try again. Exhausted. Tried. Tested. Hurting. And yes, sometimes broken. All to get to the day where two hands put out a menu that doesn't fit on a page. And will well overrun two pastry cases.
It’s a small thing, this little bakery with this little menu. But it still means everything to us. And, so, this Menu Monday I’m giddy, smiling, and dancing about overrunning my allotted menu space. But, more than anything, I want to take a little time to thank you for patiently supporting our slow growth and our often-sold-out cases. For understanding when we fell short and made mistakes. And for allowing these two hands the opportunity to grow, get better, and follow this crazy dream. Even those who occasionally got angry- you helped drive us further. We’re far from perfect, but we’re also far from done. So, from the bottom of our hearts, for another week and another opportunity, thank you for being the best part of our bakery dream.
I think a good life is lived by celebrating the small things. So, here’s to all of us who are giving today our everything. Again. And filling our pages and stories with potential. I hope your day, too, is filled with the little victories that make your smile grow and your feet dance.
See you soon!
