Living in Joy

I forgot our anniversary

June 4, 20202 marked my 6th anniversary in business at The Butters Hygienics Co! That's 6 years of self-employment, joy, struggle, success, failure, and everything else that comes with running a small business.

You might notice that we are, uh, a few days past our anniversary at the time of publishing and that's because I forgot our anniversary. But, hear me out, that's actually a good thing.

Considering the magnitude of this event, one might think it's a negative thing for me to forget to celebrate. Fair, I definitely wondered if missing this meant something negative about my commitment to the company.

But, as yawl know, I'm a different kind of bitch. I move based on my spirit, not what I "should" be doing. When it came to our 6th anniversary, LIVING was on my spirit.

I spent our 6th anniversary (a Thursday) resting. I slept till like 12 cause I was at the gym the night before. After I woke, leisured, and showered, I ended up going on a little drive to a bike ride in the park. I ended the night at my favorite gay leather & bear bar.

It was a great day, which celebrated the life I'm actually living. It was a fantastic day I couldn't have had without the success of The Butters.

Thanks to our growth, I now own a car I can afford to gas for fun trips, I own a bike that can support my 400lb body, I have free time to do things. I slept in late because I needed the rest. Hell, I even have the time to sit here and think about all this as a part of my job.

I have so much freedom, fun and happiness in life that a day like our 6th anniversary can pass without me NEEDING to sit down and acknowledge it. I don't have to grasp on to every single opportunity to celebrate out of desperation because I'm living in celebration every day.

It's not just a celebration for me, either. In June, I gave all my employees bonuses and raises for the 2nd time this year. That was just a "we're doing great, let's share the wealth" sitch. But in retrospect it is definitely a celebratory move.

Our 6th anniversary is a monumental occasion. But so is my life. Every day, everything I do is more about a ritualistic celebration of life than getting through the moment. That might sound like a humble brag but TBH I'm just celebrating what a change that is for me. I never thought I'd get out of the haze of depression, poverty, and intellectual disability. I never thought I'd be happy to say…