Tomorrow I turn 36. I feel every minute of it. Each second of tireless gravity crushing down upon my bones. Of course, I’m choosing to write this entry at 9PM after a long day, longer week, and even longer month. It’s at these times when you get straight to the truth… when we’re tired and hungry.

For the past five years, I’ve spent nearly every day working alongside my amazing and wonderful wife running a coffee shop with extremely high expectations. You know, living the American Dream proper, right? Don’t get me wrong, it’s been a fun and rewarding experience, but after five plus years of 7 day weeks with hardly a day off, both Lauren and I can feel a bit spent at times. Day in and out we are constantly busting our asses so that our community can enjoy some of the best coffee and service available. I want it to be known that by and large, we have the best customers on the planet. Now, you’re probably reading this and thinking that you work hard. I’m sure you do. However, the majority of you have no idea what it’s like to do this for five years. There are very few of us in this club and that’s because it’s fucking difficult. Most people either go out of business, or just quit because of the sheer overwhelming nature of the beast. We’ve put off dinners, weddings, parties, gatherings, funerals, and countless other activities for a long time now.

This year we’re going to attempt to change things up a bit. Simple shit… like trying to prioritize time for ourselves and begin to take more of a back seat at times. We’ll see how it goes. After all, we can do our best to make plans, but they are only good until life calls an audible.

I’m about to be thirty six and I’m not even close to being done with my conquests. So here’s to 2019 bringing great things our way. Thanks for reading.