Kait: What?! Its been a year already?!?

Jessie and I decided to write our own blog posts about this year, independently, which is something we don’t do much of….. We do this business together, but thought it would be good to give our thoughts separately and indulge our individual selves in this roundup and celebration of the first year of the Greenhouse on Porter! Read Jessie’s post here.

How do I write about last year?  How do I express all of the emotions that go into living one’s dream?  To be lucky enough to find an (almost) abandoned greenhouse, to find the right friend (now BFF) with a dreamy life vision similar to mine that has the ability to make the imaginary a reality?  How do I describe the beautiful people I have had the good fortune of meeting and the lovely ones I have known forever become even truer friends?

I just can’t.  I can’t put it into words, but I can share with you some of my favorite times, and lessons.  Like the first time Jessie and signed that lease and received our very own keys.  Walking into that chilly, overgrown dirty greenhouse that our futures would hold was magical….and terrifying.  We spent late nights building the benches,  cleaning, scheming, and going over numbers.  We spent afternoons painting and day dreaming all of the magical moments in the potential of what it could become.  

A lot of last year has been a blur.  Even the times that stand out are so far away, like they either happened in a dream or years ago.  The night we did tapas and music for the first time was overwhelming!  I think all of you showed up!  We were so busy and packed and felt we couldn’t keep up, but we just kept laughing….you were ALL at the shop at once!  Jessie and I were astounded.  It was magical.  We love to see your kids dancing and playing twister behind the band and games with you in the greenhouse.

We’ve laughed a lot at ourselves.  You’ve also made us laugh.  One of my favorite moments is when a boy about four years old was leaving, turned around at the door and said, “thank you for inviting me into your home.”  There are so many times you have given to us too.  Not just your time and support, but your plants...and your ideas.  The greenhouse is full of you.  And that might be my favorite part.  I feel less like the greenhouse is mine and Jessie’s and more like I am lucky enough to be a major part of something much bigger, something that doesn’t necessarily have words to go with it, but that feeling that hugs me tight  when I walk into the greenhouse, whether there is another person or not.  It just feels good.  It feels right.  

Thank you.  This is the easiest part and the hardest part.  Hardest because there is no way to do it properly, and because I can’t call you out individually.  You have made my world bright and helped procure a sense of true purpose.  Thank you for enjoying the greenhouse and making it your own.  Thank you for your brilliance and your brightness, for your steady love of biscuits, music and lectures.  Thank you for getting to know each other and finding new friends.

So here is to another wonderful year.  A year of pushing more boundaries and creating a tighter bond among the people on the coast  and inviting the visitors to our town to share what we have.  A year of great ideas and big projects.  Another round of dreaming and doing.  Of being there for  you and accepting your offerings.  Another year of laughter and glorious scheming.