Say “YES!”

In early November, out of the blue I received a text from my dear friend, Susan asking me, “Do you want to go skiing next month?”

My first thought was, “There’s no way I could leave town before the holidays.”  My second thought: “I’m running a business that has its peak sales during that week.“  My third:– “All of my children are coming home for the first time in a full year.” 

Finally, a tiny thought pushed its way to the surface… “Just say Yes!”   And I did.

I met Susan in Atlanta 24 years ago. Steve and I had just moved into the neighborhood with our 21-month-old baby when I received a call from a young mom, who had also just moved in.  When we met the following day, we laughed as both had baby bumps with our second children arriving just a few months away.  We became inseparable during those early years of parenting.

So, with one week before Christmas, I quietly headed out to meet her and two of her friends.   It felt like an adult version of hooky.

Honestly, there was a time in my life, when all I did was play hooky. It was the late ‘70s and much to my parents chagrin I, along with my friends, practically perfected the art of playing.  But those years seem like a different time and place, so this was a true departure from the life I live today.

The four days I was in the mountains were really sweet, and on the final day determined that tuning into one’s thoughts would be the theme for my annual new year’s post.

What did I learn?

Time – While I worked hard to prepare for my trip a myriad of holiday details were left undone.   I noted as soon as I arrived in Denver and caught a glimpse of those mountains those details left my mind, time seemed to be on my side as I glided down the mountains, and enjoyed leisurely dinners and relaxing breakfasts.   Another reminder of both the elusiveness and abundance of time. 

Girlfriends – Over our four days, we shared our mutual stories of love, loss, grief and illness, yet it was coupled with lots of laughter, shopping and evening cocktails. As we sat by the fire on our last night, we murmured with delight at the intimacy that is offered by the companionship of women.

Lean-in – My father was from Montana and loved the mountains. I learned to ski holding onto his knees when I just 3 years old. Our annual trip West was either fishing in Montana or spring skiing with friends in Colorado. The moment I see a mountain, the joy of those childhood memories come flooding back. But I hadn’t been on the slopes for over six years, so I was nervous and wondered if that chapter of skiing had closed. As I completed my final run, I felt exhilarated.  I silently reminded myself to continue to lean into my fears.

Freedom – As I skied through the mountains, I felt an unbelievable sense of freedom coupled with immense gratitude for the natural beauty of the Earth.  All of the beautiful trees, sky, mountains, sunshine filled me with a renewed sense of wanting to be a better steward for our planet.

Gratitude – Jane and I share a passion for adventure and travel.  With our mutual passion we co-created a business that allows everyone on our team flexibility in their schedule.  Even so, leaving during our biggest week was challenging. Yet, her parting words to me were, “Have fun!” I was grateful for her blessing on this last-minute adventure.

As I reflected on my thoughts for this new year, say “YES!” rose to the surface.  With a new decade about to unfold leaning into that feeling of taking a break to embark on a new adventure felt like a fitting start to the New Year!

Before we look forward – I want to take a look back and share the highlights of 2019…

• Re-branded our entire product line
• Launched with Walmart in August 2019 – 1,250 stores
• Re-launched with KeHE – Zen is now available in 40 states!
• Impact events for Breast and Ovarian Cancer
• Participating in Food Marketing Institute’s Family Meal Month
• Helped organize an event with Mintel around the “Conscious Consumer”
• Debuted a new website

And, of course, we have a lot of people behind the scenes who helped make all of that happen…

• Jacob Shayota at Express Trading is our distributor for Walmart. As you know, earlier this year after much thought we decided that we couldn’t move forward with Walmart (see link for more details) when Jacob called us after the new year and said “I’m absolutely not letting you pass this up” and helped create a path forward. 
• The dynamic team at RetroRocket (Todd Brandes and Cindy Bruckner) for jumping in late in the game to help us get our product into production.They have been unbelievable friends and partners throughout the past year.
• &Marketing – We loved working with Raj Kapur and his team to hone our digital strategy
• Charlotte Green (former Director of Marketing at Divine Chocolate) joined us in August to help and has provided much need marketing advice. We are so grateful for her time/talent and laser focus. 
• Julie Pryor, who leads the Emerging Brand program at Food Marketing Institute.  I can’t say enough about Julie; she has helped us find mentors in marketing and working with Amazon. She has provided introductions to retail partners around the country and has become a true and trusted friend.

I also want to thank Melinda Hill for the fantastic contribution she has made to our business over the past two years and wish her well on her next adventure. And a heartfelt thanks to Vonda Britt for all her work as her role expands to overseeing our entire US retail market

What’s next for Zen…

Jane and I want to announce an idea that we have been working on for the past two years around the concept of community dining. We held our first community dinner in 2017 and are planning a second in the coming year. In this time of increasingly siloed communication, we felt the best gift we could offer in the new year was to provide free spices for anyone who wanted to bring people together over a shared meal. If you are interested in learning more about our vision, please reach out to me at meg@thezenofslowcooking.com. 

Best wishes for a Happy New Year!

Post-Script…

I wrote this post around the holidays as a way to offer respite during these difficult times. In light of the recent events of today I also wanted to add a personal note.  A very close friend of mine has a son in the armed forces that left for Baghdad in early December and I’m asking for prayers him and for all of our troops.

Zen Moment

• Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. ..

-Helen Keller