Who knew Mr. Rogers would be so helpful in building Idyllwild Woods?

Remember Fred Rogers?

From the time I was a little kid watching him change out of his jacket and street shoes to his cardigan and sneakers, this gentle man became a role model for me.

Watching the 2019 movie starring Tom Hanks had me tearing up.

As far back as I can remember, my family has sung the “I’m proud of you” song (though I believe we’ve butchered it a bit) whenever someone did something great.

But I’d forgotten about something Mr. Rogers said until recently…

He said that when stuff gets scary, look for the helpers.

He meant first-responders, mostly. 

But when I was thinking about this (outside, of course), it hit me.

Already, we have had SO MUCH HELP from so many people who see my dream with me…

… The angel investors who helped us get started on the property purchase. (S and A - I don’t want to call them out, just in case they’d prefer privacy.)

… Our son, Zac, who has been with us from the start, our boots on the ground. His sweat and imagination has helped us get where we are. I can’t even express (without bawling) how much I appreciate that he can see this dream and wants to help build and run Idyllwild Woods.

… My dear friend aL, who gifted us with the mother of all composting toilets last year.

… One of my very best friends, whose investment will go to buying our first alpaca.

… My sweet father-in-law, who moved to Greeneville ahead of us, who’s very graciously made trips to the property to help us with very strange little tasks we could not do ourselves.

… Excavator Adam, who has gone above and beyond to help us get our road and barn pad built. Even though he miscalculated what his costs were going to be on this project, he has shown outstanding integrity and thoroughness in getting the project done on-time and on-budget.

… Surveyor Dan, who sent a team out to the property to confirm that YES, we are outside the flood zone.

… Concrete Jimmy, who’s helped us finally get sign-off from the permit office.

… My whole family, who’s encouraged and supported us every step of the way.

… Friends and mentors, who encourage and advise - some of them have done what we’re doing; some are just really, really smart about business, and some are just great sounding boards.

And YOU. You’ve been here from the start, reading these updates, sending encouraging replies, and serving as a reminder of WHY we’re doing this in the first place.

I just wanted to say thank you.

Thank you.

I appreciate you more than I can ever put into words.

Xoxo,

Sue

P.S. Hmph. Just had a flash of the future… someone here will be eating their Thanksgiving dinner at Idyllwild Woods next year. Maybe we’ll do a big dinner all together up on the ridge.

That’s a pretty awesome future to imagine.