If We Don't Make You Happy

God I missed y’all! How’s it going out there? I took January to hibernate, design, and plot out this year. We have some pretty epic things coming up. I’m going to start doing more of these. I’ve got a whole lot to say these days. I go through these spells of very quiet months where I am introspective and just watch and listen to things or I’m buried in the work, and then that whole extrovert side of me comes roaring out. She’s beating on the door currently so this will be an interesting year.

I’ve learned something in my silent months, watching the world and the people around me. We have completely detached ourselves from reality and the physical world that we breathe, act, socialize, and “live” in. This started before the pandemic but covid sped it along and then exacerbated it.

We learned Zoom etiquette but forgot how to treat a waiter/waitress. We learned how to shop online for grocery pickup but forgot how to go in the store and not be an a**hole. We got so mad we had to actually get in our car and drive that we forgot simple road rules and courtesy. I can go on and on, and I’m 100% positive you could too.

You know what else we did? We traded actual reality for a virtual world. We forgot that things like the book of face, the gram, twit, the tickity tock - it’s entertainment, it’s a messaging service, it’s a communication tool, it’s fun sure, but it is NOT reality. Not by a long shot. And I’m telling you, no I’m begging you - if you have holed yourself off from the world and social media is your only lifeline - please, PLEASE, turn it off and go outside. Sit six feet from a neighbor and have coffee or go sit on a patio and have a glass of wine near complete strangers, go build a snowman with your neighbors dog or go watch the birds or take a hike. Just turn it off and interact with the world again. Do whatever you need to do to make that happen.

Running a business causes you to listen to mentors, advisors, people’s experiences, advice, etc. One of the overwhelming arcs of every story I heard or continue to hear is that running a business causes you to lose people in your life. What? Not me. I’m going to do this honestly. I’m not going to let it change me. It won’t change my relationship with others in my life.

Oh, if I could go back and pat my head five years ago like you do a child that has no inkling of what’s to come, I would. I wouldn’t change anything, but I’d have better prepared for the journey. I have friends in my circle who rarely shop at Dixie Grace. I’m not mad. How boring would it be if everyone I knew was covered in Dixie Grace? Then we wouldn’t be unique. If you walked down the street and seven people you passed had on the same shirt that every other shop was selling, you’d be bored. That’s not what we’re about. Dixie Grace is personal but my relationships with people aren’t founded on business. Does that make sense? You can blindly ask anyone who knows me, I’d hope they’d all tell you that people come first, business is always second. I’ve worked and will continue to work to live that out loud. I’ve tried and will continue to strive to do that daily. There’s less of me to go around but what I have is there when people need me.

Recently I lost a couple of people who I’ve known for years off the book of face. Deleted, blocked, unfriended, what have you. All the same. No phone call, text. No courtesy that there was even an issue. No respect as a person. Just the click of a button and it’s finality, like the screen is the real breathing world and loyalty is defined by a friends list. It’s very odd and precarious to me that THIS is how relationships, or lack thereof, are defined today. Let me also note that these weren’t people that I knew for seven seconds in high school who rallied political posts like downtown St Louis when the Blues brought home the cup. These were people close to me as in my home, holidays, tragedies, and the like. It’s eye opening. The lack of respect for each other, making decisions by clicking buttons, not facing things head on. It’s the decay of our society and if we don’t get a handle on it, our world will end up looking like those sci fi movies from the 90s we didn’t believe were even possible.

I’ll end with this because this won’t be a topic I’ll be revisiting. If deleting me, our team, Dixie Grace - brings you peace and happiness, go ahead. Click that button. If you don’t know how, let me know, and I’ll do it for you. If you have an issue, and you choose to take it to others before giving me or us the courtesy of addressing it, we’re not for you. If you don’t have enough respect for both yourself or us, to discuss whatever is wrong, then we aren’t for you. We’re not for everyone. I’ve said that thousands of times now and I mean it. We’re all about respect, kindness, and integrity.

Social media is great for communication and fun but at the end of the day, that is ALL it is or ever will be for us here. We’re here because of each of YOU. We want to be here for each of YOU. But if here isn’t good for you, we will wish you the best. We’re not stopping our journey and things like this will continue to fuel our fire at Dixie Grace. If we had time for drama, we wouldn’t be where we are today.

If you’re sticking around, we’ve got one HELL of a year happening here. That’s because of those that stay and believe in our dreams as much as we do, to be bigger than just one person, to believe in the work, to have fun.

Much love to each of you.

My cup runneth over.

-Katie

This cup has been reordered.