Building Forward

Happy Friday.

We made it.

Somehow, through the blur of the week, we made it to the end.

And now, instead of slowing down, we’re building.

Yesterday, we had cinderblocks delivered.

The start of the chicken run.

Chicks getting ordered this weekend. A truckload of dirt to pick up. Grass to cut and burn. Ground to level. Kids to teach, not just how to do it, but why it matters.

All after work.

Assuming the weather holds. Assuming life lets it happen the way we hope it will.

We’ve planned this space a hundred times over.

Garden beds mapped out. Locations tested. Small attempts, small builds, all pointing toward something bigger.

Right now, it’s one acre.

Surrounded by woods that stretch beyond us.

But what we’re building toward is different.

Fifteen acres. Dense woods. A river, or at least a good pond. Space for goats, maybe cows. Rows of planting that actually mean something.

That’s the vision.

This… this is just the beginning of it.

Because feeding a family of six takes work.

And that work teaches something you can’t really replicate anywhere else.

Patience. Effort. Ownership.

Skills that feel like they’re fading in a lot of places, but don’t have to here.

Not in this house.

Work this week… it all kind of blends together.

One-on-ones. Team meetings. Check-ins across groups.

And underneath it all, still cleaning house.

Organizing. Restructuring. Moving pages, rebuilding sections, setting guardrails that should’ve been there a long time ago.

Still very much in that space between storms.

It gives me something to do in the quiet moments.

More than that, it gives me purpose.

Because when things speed back up, and they always do, this is the work that holds everything together.

Last night was the last official baseball practice.

Games start tomorrow.

Opening day. Ceremony. Parade.

You can feel it shifting.

Jacob’s arm is getting stronger every week. And his speed… it still catches people off guard. Kids. Coaches. Everyone.

David is something else entirely.

His love for the game is constant.

Always ready. Always smiling. Always lifting the energy around him.

He makes the team better just by being there.

They’re both as ready as they can be.

Now it’s on me.

More catch. Batting cages. Games of 500.

And honestly?

You won’t hear me complain about any of it.

Not one bit.

I love this game too.

Maybe not quite as much as I love watching them love it, but it’s close.

Today is full.

Leadership meetings. Staff meeting. Tough conversations. Planning. Cascading changes, some I’ve made, some others have.

Moving things forward.

And somewhere in all of that, if things line up the way they should, we might have a chicken run standing by the end of the weekend.

Or at least the start of one.

There’s something about building something small while dreaming about something bigger. It keeps you grounded and moving at the same time. You don’t have the fifteen acres yet. You don’t have the river, the space, or the full vision built out. But you still start. You still move dirt, place blocks, teach your kids how to work with their hands. Because the habits you build now don’t wait for perfect conditions. They’re the same ones you’ll carry into whatever comes next.

This is a grounded moment where building something small today is how you earn something bigger tomorrow.

Much love. Stay safe. Wash your damn hands. I’ll see you Monday.