Thanksgiving Letter From Donna Letier – Our CEO & Founder

Today. Tomorrow. Always. Thankful for the Journey.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday- it’s a time when people stop and think about what they are truly grateful for. It’s a day when we purposefully ponder on the concept of gratitude.

This morning, Jillian’s Frozen hot chocolate cup served as my coffee cup, and as I thought about the day, the season, and the message, “Trust Your Journey,” I thought about the people and moments that make my journey and the journey of Gardenuity so special.

I love the idea behind the quote “Trust Your Journey.” It highlights the concept that every challenge, interaction, and moment has something to teach us. Even days that go in a completely different direction than planned have a lesson in them, giving us the opportunity to find something in every day to be thankful for.

Every day we make decisions about our own journey and the journey we are leading others through. We have no guarantees the decisions will always be right. In fact, we know some will be wrong. We will look back at those times and ponder: what was I thinking? But each decision is part of the journey, and when we can find a way to be thankful for those moments–gratitude can be the destination.

“Gratitude for the journey is our gateway to grace” as Arianna Huffington beautifully said, “It’s no coincidence that gratitude shares the same Latin root gratis as the word grace. So, in addition to a day of gratitude, we can choose to live in a state of gratitude and thus in a state of grace.”

We live in a culture of achievement; we focus on the destination, the success of what we achieved, the trophy. But the quote, “Trust Your Journey,” makes me think about the moments and the people that make up the journey and, specifically, how thankful I am for those moments and people.

The entrepreneurial journey is just that, a journey. The journey involves hard days, fear, fights, growth, pivots, hard decisions, lots of chocolate in my case, laughter, wins, and moments of thankfulness. There is always something to be grateful for on our journey- no matter how big or small. This morning, Jillian’s cup reminded me just how grateful I am to be on this journey.

So, this Thanksgiving I am especially thankful for the customers who have been with us on our journey of growing Gardenuity. You make us better; your passion for the product, support of our mission, and genuine caring for our team is extraordinary. For our families who put up with our many hours away from home, for the team past and present who have been part of our growth, and who make Gardenuity what it is today, I am beyond grateful.

Growing gratitude and gardens together. Happy Thanksgiving!

Donna, on behalf of Julie and the entire Gardenuity team