I’ve felt extra grippy lately. Going into November, I had a clear plan: be credit-card free, have cash in my pocket, and head into 2026 with a solid plan. I was so energized that I decided we would close the shop for four full days—revamp the space and launch Whatnot to help fund our nonprofit mission. We started strong. There was excitement and momentum. But I spent so much of my energy helping with shows. Boxing, bagging, learning, pulling, cleaning—that I never finished revamping the store. I didn’t even finish the task. When we reopened, it was still messy. So messy that I started apologizing to everyone who walked through the door. I kept adding more shows just to shrink the mess instead of actually solving it. I am grateful we’re learning auctions. Weeks like this—when ice shuts everything down—having a creative way to make money matters and itallowed us to at least cover payroll. That matters more than pride. But internally, I hadn’t been thankful. I hadn’t been optimistic. I hadn’t made the best use of my time. I was at the shop every day, but much of it was meetings, Zoom calls, statements, and website work—not the tangible progress I expected. That disconnect is where my perspective started to slip. Then the same night we were supposed to have our first freeze, our water pump went out. When I checked the breaker, I smelled smoke. The wires behind the wall were smoking. Thanks to my dad teaching me just enough about electrical work, I was able to change the breaker and restore power—but the pump itself was shot. We were without water for four days. We were lucky. We have gym memberships, so we drove five miles an hour to take showers. We still went to work. We stayed productive. We kept going. Today, my 70-year-old dad insisted on helping—even though his own pipes were frozen and he didn’t have water either. My mom and dad drove from Kerrville and spent five hours helping me and my son replace the pump. And this is the moment that changed me. I watched my dad struggling but here to save the day. He has heart damage from a heart attack a few years ago and this was the first time I’ve ever really seen him struggle. He’s always been the strong, capable, working man—the fixer.