The Start of Something Sweet

A few days ago in my Instagram stories, I shared that I've been working on something exciting for a few months and dreaming about for a decade (or more). That something is a small, boutique cookie dough business. You see I've talked about wanting to sell baked goods for a long time. Too long actually. Because when people talk about stuff and never go after it, I tend to lose interest. I was actually kind of losing interest in my own dream, because only every so often would I let myself talk about it and really between those conversations and letting my mind wander, there was zero action. Seriously, I was annoying myself with my lack of ambition towards something that brings me joy.

That was until the end of 2020. Twenty twenty was a real ball buster to say the least. It obviously brought all the unexpected bumps and turns no one saw coming and wreaked havoc on families, businesses, schools, a global economy and so much more. But the biggest blind side 2020 brought me was the very unexpected loss of my Dad. It was such a shock and a complete life altering moment without any warning whatsoever. That feeling of complete shock is really hard to put into words. And to add insult to injury, my grandmother died 20 days later of COVID-19. So on top of an already challenging year, twenty twenty never really let up - it went full throttle until the bitter end.

As terrible as it has been to travel the journey of significant and sudden loss, it also makes you kind of stop in your tracks and evaluate nearly everything. I spent so much time thinking "what am I doing with my life?" "What brings me the most joy?" "How can I create something good out of something so sad?" "Are my priorities in order?" "If I could be anything in life, what would I be?" Seriously I walked miles around my mom + step dad's property while we were home asking myself all these exact questions. And it was cold!

Luckily for me, along with those questions came a lot of cookies. Like A LOT of cookies. I'm embarrassed to admit how many cookies I ate from December 8, 2020 to January 1, 2021. Warm cookies brought me comfort and enjoying warm cookies with my family each night brought a little happiness to my heart during such a sad time. And one night my husband went to grab a frozen cookie ball to warm up and he looked at me and said, "I bet we could vacuum seal these babies and you could sell them!" And guys that was it - Sweeties was truly brought to life in that moment. It wasn't just a dream anymore - it had a pulse. Every single day since that evening I've thought about this little biz of mine and it's finally happening and I could not be happier or prouder!

I honestly think it's the absolute hardest and darkest storms in our life that are followed by the brightest sun. And the sun finally feels like it's ready to shine.

Thanks for joining and supporting me on this journey.

AFK