Thank you everyone for the calls, texts, and posts here. I had a wonderful day with a little bit of work, a bunch of dad time, and Niki capped it off with a dinner downtown for KC Restaurant week.
It hasnโt felt like a typical birthday (34) and Iโve been reflecting on what we accomplished in the past year, and why that might be.
1. We purchased our first home! (Shout out to Serena Steffen) This brought stability we had been working so hard for, but didnโt know that we needed. What a relief it has been.
2. I made my health a priority, or Wyatt did. He will be 2 next month and his energy reserve is endless. I worked hard to lose 35 pounds that I had packed on since 2020 – Iโm not above laying the blame on the Covid lifestyleโฆand there may be a 5 pound variance after the holidays we had.
3. We have been living back in Kansas City for 2.5 years. It feels like home again, and we are undoubtedly buying into the KC love that is so contagious when you are immersed in the community feel of our โmajorโ city.
4. Iโve been working a bit. Iโve never been shy on hours/week. My dad reminded me today, from his work desk, that Iโm in my working years. This is the time to do the heavy lifting and thatโs what I trained up in my 20โs for right?
With all of that in mind, we made a decision in December to focus on time with each other and making memories with our little family. We want to drive more impact into our community and give back where we can. I want to have fun if Iโm going to be working relentlessly, and why not start now?
We kicked off the KC Pancake Co. the first week of December. We filled our first commercial order 3 weeks later – go try our pancakes for brunch at the Side Pockets in Lenexa!
Today we are launching our website and taking another step to organizing and building a company and a brand that we are proud of. The mix is great, built from ingredients sourced here in KC from other small businesses so that they can grow with us, and we are donating a percentage of our proceeds to KC kids and supporting charities.
Itโs a project that I hope can provide meaningful time with my family, deeper roots in the community, and help the future of KC at the same time.
If 34 is going to be a working year then why not spend it working for positivity?
