So.

So... Do you remember last year when we decided to merely dabble in the Thanksgiving 2k14 market by accepting hundreds of orders?  And we baked pies in our relatively new space while people waited in line for two hours to even get into our store?  And Jeanne wore a pumpkin pie hat to break the growing tension in the crowd from turning into an exasperated mob?  And I cried for 91% of the entire experience because I'm terrible at disappointment?  Yeah, me too.

If last year crowned a winner, it was Thanksgiving 2k14 and we received a token cheap trophy for showing up and thinking we could play the game without preparing for it.  I bet Thanksgiving 2k14 even snickered about us behind our backs for not ordering thousands of boxes and bags and organizing ourselves within a margin of error of NONE.

So this year...

OH, THIS YEAR.

It was game on, Thanksgiving 2k15.

And oh, by the way, I'll just tell you now that we won the imaginary battle.  In the last few days, we baked over a thousand pies. And all of those pies are in their new homes tonight, cooling in their pie box with a label printed containing the purchaser's name, phone number, order pick up time, and pie flavor.  And maybe still in the large kraft shopping bag with the purchaser's name written on the outside of the bag so we could find it quickly and then route the customer to one of three pay stations for quick check out and immediate escort to their cars by a crowd control expert who has agreed to be paid in Jimmy John's for lunch and free pie.  And that is just the start.  I present Exhibit A:

And even though we baked for a solid 36 hours without leaving PJP Buttonwood, even that managed to stay organized and fun.  I present Exhibit B:

Now let's keep it real.  Did one or both of us cry?  Uh, YEAH.  Did we question our existence and our life goals when reaching the 36 hour point of no sleep?  Basically.  Did we want to quit the Thanksgiving 2k15 battle before it even began?  Yep.  I didn't realize how tightly wound I had been until I hobbled home tonight and all the relief washed over me (mainly as I changed into yoga pants and then immediately fell asleep on the couch before even selecting a stored episode of House Hunters on HGTV).

So we can break it down about what we did differently this year (everything) or all of our thoughts on the Spare Space and the like (so many thoughts), but the real takeaway from our thoughts tonight is really about all of the love and support shown to us by so many over the past week.  People who have known us for years and people who met us for the first time on Monday came along on this journey with us, like baking pies and stressing out was an event not to be missed.  There wasn't a minute over the last five days that didn't find Jeanne or I being cared for in the most generous of ways by the kindness of others.  People texted us and sent us Facebook messages and hugged us and reminded us that believing in World Pie Domination wasn't crazy at all.  They listened to my Thanksgiving 2k15 plans and helped me improve it all for the very best experience possible.  They showed up at 5 am and worked until 9 pm.  They washed dishes and took out the trash.  They made pie boxes and put stickers on boxes.  They answered phones and waited on customers.  They let us have moments when we were stabby and tired and then kept us moving.  The kids that work for us and their significant others were, as usual, complete and total champs.  They never left our side, did whatever we asked, and stayed until the bitter end...making even the longest night of baking tolerable with 11 pm Mimosas.

That today went well for us is important, of course.  But the unexpected benefits of building a community, of making friends, of introducing our friends to each other, of working together to make one crazy idea (hey, let's sell 1,000 pies in one day) work, well...it just makes our hearts swell with joy.  We are the luckiest girls ever and we are so thankful for each of you.  So, Thanksgiving 2k15, just know we already won before we ever started...