05/30/2026
🥹😭Locked the doors, shut down the espresso machine, turned off the lights. My knees gave out and I couldn’t hold back a flood of tears. Sooo many emotions came flowing out. I sat in each room, thanking God for each and every space. The kids’ room: for every single kiddo that came and played, giggled, ran around with little teeny barefoot feet. Praying that they felt welcomed, treasured, and loved. The storage room: so thankful for our overflow of inventory, and sometimes a place to take a much needed space to breathe; to take a “break”🥰. The boutique and dressing rooms: a place where you tried on and found yourself something that hopefully made you feel even a bit more confident & to celebrate and treat yourself ❤️ The couches and gathering areas: groups of people gathering to enjoy conversations, celebrations, share life, or even read together over a cup of their favorite beverage or lunch. I pray that you all felt a sense of belonging, a place of peace and calm from the craziness of life. The barista station: for all of us that had the opportunity to meet, visit with, and serve each of you. We found a deep sense of purpose in our “work”, our ministry. We laughed together, got to know each other well, created together, solved problems together… what a high, beautiful honor.
I sat today and my tears flowed. I have struggled with this all, deeply. But busyness distracts me from really “feeling” sometimes. Honestly, I’ve felt like a complete failure. Was any of this even worth it? Was it wasted?
But then I thought of each and every one of you & your words. Hearing powerful stories of how you were blessed and impacted through Ollie’s. How you felt when you came in, how it has impacted your lives. More than just delicious coffee/drinks/food- but hearing the way your heart was encouraged.
And then, through the deep sense of loss … I could clearly hear in my heart a whisper & smile from my Grampy, “you do real good, Ollie”. (He told me that quite a bit.) 😭❤️ I could feel it, deeply; he’s proud of me. I realized- It really was worth it. Every single second of it.
❤️The REAL rockstars here are my incredible family and friends who have supported this wild dream. I may have been the one you’ve seen, but they really are the backbone of Ollie’s. The ones that truly made this dream a reality.
💕My husband- the one who assembled & fixed about everything, lifted, listened, supported, and helped fulfill all my insane, crazy ideas… often shaking his head at me, but always saying, “ok, it’s your vision… I’ll trust you”.
💕My mom, sister, and Grammy. My constant cheerleaders. Never leaving my side; in my mistakes, my deep struggles, my successes… they were there for it all.
💕My mother and father in law. My honorary, precious mom and dad. ❤️Their support, words of encouragement, prayers, and selfless/ serving hearts through it all have been an incredible blessing & meant more than I could ever express.
💕My kids. Jackson, Natalie, Noah, and Callan. They’ve helped with all my Ollie’s shenanigans, happily (most of the time😉) pitching in, riding along with me on countless trips all over God’s green earth to pick up supplies, coffee beans, espresso machine parts, and so much more. Giving up on time that their mom wasn’t home when I was busy doing things for the store. But in it all, they told me, “mom, thank you for always taking the time to be with us when you can. We love you so much.” Their level of grace, empathy, and understanding literally blows me away.
💕So many amazing friends, supportive & beautiful people in this community and beyond: there are no words to express my deep gratitude. They say it takes a village to raise a child. In so many ways, Ollie’s has been my “baby”, and you’ve been there to help support, nurture and help “raise this baby”. I think we all did well. 🥰🥹
🙏I pray you can hear my heart clearly here: None of this is about me; Never was. It’s about unity - in extending love, grace, forgiveness, understanding… no judgment, just understanding we all have a story, we all struggle.. and we NEED each other. We all need hope, and I pray that you know we have that in Christ. He never has or never will leave us. We are all together on this journey of life. I pray that the heart of Ollie’s (rooted in Christ, & the incredible example set by my Grampy) can continue not only in me, but in anyone that was touched by this 6 year venture. It was worth it. All of it. There was purpose & so much meaning in it all.
Onto the next chapter, we move forward in hopeful expectation. So grateful for it all, & excited for wherever this next chapter leads to… whatever it may be, it will be good. 😊🙏
Eternally grateful, thank you,
❤️Ollie
Micah 7:7 As for me, I look to the Lord for help. I wait confidently…
Philippians 1:3 Whenever you cross my mind, I thank my God for you and for the gift of knowing you.
