On May 1 of this year, Hurley House celebrated five years of being in business. Five years feels like a big deal. In the context of having a child, which has proved to be a fitting metaphor for starting and growing a small business, Hurley House is a ready to start kindergarten.
We went through the grueling infant stage full of late nights, early mornings, messy days, and a lack of hope that life would ever return to normal.
Then we were a toddler, terrible at times, challenging on all the levels possible, struggling to figure out how to express who we are and still follow the rules. We battled, cried, fought for what we wanted, and wondered if we would ever find sanity again.
Now we are a kid, still little, still learning, definitely still growing, but we have some significant skills under our belt, and we are able to find our way. We are five. And five feels great.
Everyone always asks, “Where do you see yourself in five years?” Someone asked me this very question this past weekend, and I stumbled terribly with my answer. I have ideas on where I want to go, but to verbalize them to a stranger while slicing avocados caused me to fumble with words and sweat for no reason. It is a fitting question, and the intentions were harmless, but I have spent so much time getting here, how can I be expected to know where I want to go next?
The question I want to consider and celebrate is five years ago, where did I see myself today? And here is where I get a big goofy grin on my face at the answer. Five years ago, I hoped for what I now have.
Five years ago, as I dreamed big and sketched out a vision of what I wanted to build, I hoped with all my heart that I would have a little space where people could come in and feel at home. Where the bakery case was full of delicious treats and the smells from the kitchen were amazing. Where friends could gather, where tables could be set, where celebrations and connections could occur. Five years ago, I wanted to be where I am today. The weight of that reality stuns me, and I am nothing but grateful.
Not only am I thankful for where we are, what we’ve built, who we have become as a business and as a part of our community, but I am thankful for being able to recognize the gift of living in a reality that at one point was only a dream.
Celebrating five years of Hurley House is more than a major milestone. It is a moment full of gratitude as I recall with humility that the idea of what I wanted five years ago seemed so far fetched and impossible, yet here I am living in it every day.
The act of pausing to be grateful for where we are by reflecting on where we started fuels in me the fire to figure out my answer and confidently declare where I hope we will be in five years with anyone, even if I am slicing avocados when they ask.
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