A Thousand Days...

Today, March 28th, 2023, we celebrate our one thousandth day at Dunlaps. 

What a journey it has been... We have learned so much about our community, the lumber market, products of all types - from tapcons to strike plates to stain to underlayment and everything in between. We've learned about what it means to maintain a business and what it takes to grow a business. And how nearly impossible those tasks can be. I've learned about a global pandemic can do to shipping and the price of raw materials. Sadly, I've learned that big businesses have found ways to create shortages to overinflate prices and hurt little guys and small town America. But on the other side, I've learned how important our dinky hardware store can be and how needed we are. 

There have been so many memories and moments jammed into those thousand days. I think about some of our first moments -- they were such a blur and so scary. I think about how tight money has been at times and sing that one Oak Ridge Boys song in my head, "Hard times are hard, but they make you who you are..."

In our first months, Allen would hit the door in the evenings, exhausted, and I would always asked him the same (serious) question: What catastrophes do we have to deal with tomorrow? And he would rattle a list two miles long and we would talk about Dunlaps until well after 9 o'clock at night… so many fires to put out the next day and so many more left untouched. As the months and first year went by, he came home with fewer and fewer catastrophes. And when 2023 rang in the new year, Allen and I worked to focus a little more on us and our girls and a little less on business - Allen stopped working every Saturday at the store and is now only ever other. And we set time limits on Dunlaps talks in the evenings.. limiting us to about only 30 minutes max "work talk." We also make a real effort to get a massage every 6-8 weeks. (I also hang eucalyptus in the shower to help combat stress and take ashwagandha. Business owner AND crunchy mom/wife 💪🏼).

There are so many people to thank. More than a thousand honestly. All of our loyal and incredible customers. Our employees who work long hours and do sometimes tedious projects. Our family who have stepped in to help watch our kiddos so Allen and I can see this company, this dream, get on it's feet. Our friends for the laughs and advice, who frequent our store and never ask for a discount. Our neighbors for the speedy service in fixing a tire or our tending to our broken furnace or answering our late night call when we think an after hours delivery was made and left on the curb. 

They say it takes 10,000 hours to be a master at something. By those terms and by our own standards, we don't feel there yet. But each day, with each new project and question and window and key and paint swatch and funny look lag, we get there.

A picture is worth a thousand words. And I have about a thousand pictures that all can tell a grander story than I ever could. Enjoy some of our first thousand memories:

The last thousand days have been so so good to us. This year, 2023, we celebrate of 150th year at Dunlaps and our 3rd year as Dunlap Supply. We are so blessed to be a part of this place.

I hung this sign in our break room. And though I usually don't get much of a break when I'm back there (always a microwave to clean or water to restock), I like to pause and really **really** read it. I hope you'll remember that message too - no matter what path life has put you on:

Much love always,