I think i can
The grand opening was this past Saturday and was more than I could have ever envisioned! You never know how something will turn out regardless of how much you forecast, plan, revise your plans and prepare. The Rooted MKE team and I spent months preparing for the day of celebration and couldn’t have asked for it to have been better.
We met many amazing families, parents, grandparents, neighbors, local officials, community leaders and many other BIPOC business owners and entrepreneurs. I also got to share space with other women-BIPOC-bookstore-owners in the City and talk about how we could lift together and partner moving forward. It felt so warm and invigorating to stand between women who had already began the Indie bookselling journey and were activating readers in their own respective spaces.
Throughout the day I fielded so many questions about Rooted MKE expanding, considering a secondary location and many “what’s next” moments of pause. Though I can truly appreciate all of the forward thinking and genuine desire to see our mission and reach expand; I too had to pause and begin to ponder when I would feel ready to stretch my roots further. For now, I settle a little deeper into my seat and move deliberately.
Pretty wild to begin to carve out next steps when the cash register has only been opening and closing to live sales for about 7 days. I love the idea of moving into other spaces and doing as much as we can to celebrate, uplift and showcase BIPOC children’s works of literacy. Even as I work on drafting this post I am reminded that my life is full and Rooted MKE is still in it’s infancy as a business. In between stringing together my thoughts, Asherah reminds me that I’m first her mommy. The light smell of fresh poop in the atmosphere calls me to take a moment to address her needs first. The fancy app Amzai’s school uses to send us precious photos of him in action alongside his “big-kid friends” as he refers to them, encourages me to rest my entrepreneurial bad-ass brain and visit “mommy of a growing toddler” land throughout the workday.
Growing my business baby into what it is, even now, has been a journey and a dream. A trip through the wilderness and a few spoonful’s of sacrifice. Some weekly therapy sessions and honest conversations with my support system. I am a mommy of two under 4, one who still exclusively breastfeeds. The wife of an amazingly, talented and highly sought after husband who too owns a small business and is practicing the art of using his time intentionally. Our lives are full and I can never drift too far away from home that I lose the connections I have with my babies and the bond I have with my partner.
Rooted MKE will be a staple for my city and a sacred place I hold close to my heart. I want to nurture Rooted as much as dreaming of Rooted has nurtured me. I also want to make sure that everyone who experiences Rooted MKE is able to appreciate it and feel the magic we are trying to create. That means, we grow slow. That means my staff learns to do a few things well before descending from the hill and setting sites elsewhere.
I also hope that Rooted MKE encourages others with dreams to feed their community, to activate those dreams and create their own sacred place. Rooted cannot be everywhere doing all things; But we will serve our mission well and dig deep to be one of many models for others, elsewhere.