So I threw this website together to try and bring a little legitimacy to what I’m doing. Maybe see if anyone else wanted to join up, bring some joy and love into the world, and honestly just have a name and a logo to hide behind.
Legitimacy is a funny thing.
There is nothing legitimate about what is happening here. We made some donuts in our home, topped them with various things that sounded like it could be good, and kind of just laid them out for anyone to come and grab at a particular time.
Any bid for legitimacy, whatever that even means, probably goes out the window when you consider that we had maybe a baker’s dozen people come through the entire time our doors were open. That honestly feels about right.
I’m not saying that to complain. Truth be told, that’s a pretty solid turnout considering we’re just sub-amateur bakers scratching together some messy looking donuts and offering them up in our home.
I’m sincerely grateful to every single person that came through. For the time they gave, for the pieces of themselves they shared, and for just being willing to show up to something like this in the first place is incredible.
Thankfully, the village exists to strip away the need for metrics like attendance, sales, or engagement when deciding if something was a success.
What I set out to do was very simple.
I wanted to make a shitload of donuts (200+).
I wanted to experiment with flavors and toppings.
and I wanted to do it alongside my best friend.
I love processes. I love figuring out workflows. I love planning events, building material lists, having something to prepare for.
I love sharing with people. and I really love finding ways to delight people while asking nothing from them in return.
Saturday wasn’t baking a bunch of donuts to give away.
It was playlists new and old.
It was singing in every single key except the correct one.
It was tasting every single flavor combination.
It was dancing around the kitchen with my wife, just feeling thankful for the life we get to live. To be so lucky to be able to spend an entire day baking for friends and strangers.
These events are selfish.
I joked that I need to find a hobby, but this is my hobby, and it really was one of the best days I’ve had in a long time.
A full day with my favorite person, then time with friends and family, and then getting to be a small, unexpected moment of joy for people in our community.
After we closed up, we boxed everything that was left and went out.
Bars. Restaurants. Sub shops. Gas stations. Convenience stores. Fast food drive-thrus.
There aren’t many people working at a drive-thru window that are expecting to be delighted at 10:30 at night. But I’ll tell you this, getting handed free, fresh baked goods in that moment seemed to bring energy and excitement and surprise and delight and so many other positive feelings.
Were the donuts bakery quality? No. Gods no.
But they were free enough, and good enough, to bring some real joy to people working late, working hard, and working pretty thanklessly.
I think we’re all capable of being just good enough to bring genuine joy to the likes of a Burger King drive-thru.
Legitimacy might be a stretch, but if nothing else hopefully this is a small encouragement to go be your own version of free, mediocre donuts.
I believe in you!
