Eponymous Perfection

Does it seem to you that every year when the weather gets warm, the spring flowers have already gone by and the first big tourist influx arrives that we jump off the blocks at a world record pace to get to July 4th? Then we celebrate our independence, wave our flags, crank up the music to drown out the scary noise of fireworks to our pets and then it’s over. July 4th is the peak and then everything from there is just an absolute frenzy until about the third week in August…. THEN we regroup for fall - a more civilized version of those seven chaotic weeks midsummer.

It does seem different this year though, the older you get the more you know what’s coming and try to be more prepared. Heck, my team and I are already planning for NEXT July 4th. Is this something that age does? Is there POSSIBLY a small positive thing about having lots of July 4ths under your belt? Maybe.

I know one thing, this July 4th closes the “Good Enough” phase of my life and begins the “I Want it to be Perfect” phase. I’ve decided I’m all done settling. I know what I want but rarely get it because I get frustrated then bored and just settle for good enough. You can’t have your hands in as many things as I want to do and have perfection every time. I’ve decided to narrow down the list and do things right and keep building a team with the same goal and if something can’t be perfect then simply scratch it off the list.

Maybe because the new farm is called Swan Song, I don’t want it to be open until it is perfect. I was sincere when I named the oceanfront farm in Sullivan thinking, this is it, this will be my last big project - my literal swan song. BUT I never said there couldn’t be lots and lots of components of that last big project. That’s how I’ll qualify this in my mind and to others anyway.

Just today we’ve been working on plans for the farm store from the interior design, walls and ceilings clad in rough cut pine, to the logo that good old Canva did a better job with than some logos we’ve contracted for thousands and thousands of dollars. Again, I just don’t want to be let down anymore.

Really, in the end, I don’t want to let myself down or cause myself to be disappointed and we are the only people who can do that to ourselves. Our lack of fortitude and clear communication is on us. Remember that next time you feel that pang and think it’s easier to just settle and not keep pushing, you can change it. If you want it to be perfect, there’s only one person who can make it so and that’s you, If you are passionate enough about it, you’ll do it.

I think, finally, Swan Song Saltwater Farm is the project I’ve been waiting for all my life, that I am passionate enough about to do whatever I have to do to make it perfect. Stand by for some perfection, even if it takes longer than I want. Perfection and Patience seem to be unbreakable partners. I have to accept both to have the first.