Year in Review 2021
Our Year in
Review
My rose, bud, thorn for 2021
Every year, I look forward to the week between Christmas and the New Year to reflect on our season and acknowledge our most memorable moments of the year. But, of course, it is also a perfect excuse to curl up by the fireplace in my pj's with my new planner.
So, let's dive in.
Oh, 2021. You were something! This year felt more emotionally demanding than the previous year in many ways. Last January, I closed out my year in review with this, 'I am entering 2021 feeling rested and grateful for the lessons last year brought me.' Well, it's a damn good thing because this year was a doozy, am I right? I started to say I won't be sad to see this year go, but that is not entirely true because I think there is something to learn about every season of life and business.
My friend Kalin introduced me to the rose, thorn, bud mindful reflection, and I thought I would use it here to summarize our highs and lows as well as our budding ideas for next season. If you are not familiar with this practice, here is how it works:
Rose: A highlight, success, or something positive that happened.
Thorn: A challenge or problem.
Bud: New ideas, something you are looking forward to.
Our season was filled with roses (figuratively) since it is about the only flower we don't actually grow on our farm. I entered this season feeling more confident in my business decisions and learned to trust myself after managing the previous year of curveballs Covid threw our way. The Wildroot team grew by two new rockstar employees (Nola and Mollie), and we were able to offer on-farm workshops to our lovely customers again this season.
In 2020 we opened our U-Pick and, I had this vision of live music, food trucks, and customers filling our fields to escape and unwind, but the timing just never felt right. Our Friday night Sunset U-picks were born this season, and they were everything I could have dreamed up. Anytime we start something new, I always have a slight fear that creeps up in my gut. Will people even show up? Did I promote it long enough? Thank you, MOV, for constantly silencing my fears and showing up for us in such a huge way. At our first sunset U-Pick, I was overwhelmed with gratitude as the cars filled our field that I had to walk away to take it all in. Over 200 of you showed up to spend the evening with us.
On a personal note, I had the privilege of being on two farming podcasts this year which pushed me well beyond my comfort zone. I am so thankful for the endless opportunities my farming journey has brought into my life and a constant reminder we are all surrounded by abundance.
I have been giving a lot of thought to my thorn for the season, and I have settled on one central theme: remembering to slow down. When Covid hit, my calendar was wiped clean, and it was much easier for me to rest and say no to adding more to my schedule. This idea of slowing down and doing less was a conversation I had with many of you in 2020, and as more activities, sports, and vacations got added back into our lives, the less we slowed down this year. I heard the relief in your voice when your 'to-do's' were canceled because trust me, I felt it too.
This season I could feel the strain of a full schedule again, and I knew something needed to give. Even though we have made considerable strides in self-care as part of our company culture, it is easy to want to say YES to everything in our short growing season. Fast forward to the fall of this year, and I physically and emotionally hit a wall. I knew I needed to do something for myself, so I decided to book a last-minute trip to Naples, FL, for two whole weeks.
Here is what I learned from my trip.
Rest is not earned. I will say that a little louder for the folks in the back. Rest is not earned; it is a gift we give ourselves to show up as the best versions of ourselves we can be.
On day 2 of my vacation, I called my Mom and contemplated changing my flight to come home early, pacing the house because my insides were freaking out. I craved nothing, and now that I had it, I wanted to go home to the rat race.
I felt guilty for leaving my team behind, and I kept quieting the guilt with thoughts that it's okay, I earned it, I work hard. Sure, I work hard, but really, don't we all? The single Mom managing soccer schedules and quarantines, the nurse getting her kids fed and off to school before reporting to work at 7 am, the small business owner wearing more hats than is humanly possible.
Rest is not a reward for juggling too much. Rest does not have to mean doing nothing with your feet up. It can be quality time spent in nature, talking with a good friend, giving yourself permission to do something FUN, allowing yourself to pause and say no to something. Rest is a requirement to be a functioning human being.
What is one thing you were doing more of in 2020 that you want to work back into your life? As a business owner, and I suppose just being human, people-pleasing can sometimes step into the driver's seat. But, every year, I am learning how to kick that people-pleasing monkey to the back seat and trust myself that I know what I need.
So, as part of having more work-life balance, we are stepping away from full-service weddings in 2022 to focus on more on-farm experiences for our customers and a little more of this thing called FUN.
My favorite part of my year in review is always the bud, dreaming about the next season and the new ways we get to connect with our amazing customers. I am keeping some of the buds for 2022 under wraps, but I can tell you that we are planning more ways to experience our farm. Every year we meet as a team to talk about our wins and share ideas to improve your experience as our customer.
Some of the ideas born out of this meeting are CSA text message reminders starting in 2022 and expanding our most popular Spring CSA share to 6 weeks. Also, last year we switched our pick-ups days to every Friday to make it easier for you to remember dates and have flowers to kick off your weekend.
I honestly can't thank you enough for making our farm a part of your lives and making these milestones possible. Every time you share our story, buy our flowers, attend a workshop or visit our U-Pick, you are breathing life into my dream. I am filled with gratitude to be a part of this incredible community of customers we have built, and I can't wait to see what this next year has in store.
Until the flowers are in bloom again, you can join me on our email list every week to hear what we are up to and receive exclusive farm updates.
Cheers to the New Year.
Stay warm friends,
Lyndsay
