Blogging, and tracking the journey

I've (Charles L Petersheim) been writing most of my life, studied journalism at U of Pittsburgh, wrote an unpublished novel, thousands of letters, hundreds of letters to the editors, dozens of newspaper articles, and the marketing copy for Catskill Farms, and all related entities for twenty years.  And I used to keep this blog very updated.  It was scandalous in its day, tracking my ups, downs, wins, losses, defeats, paybacks, etc..., all written well and on point.

Now that life has stabilized a bit on this entrepreneurial journey, it seems the need to express is less, less to confess, less to offer and less to reveal.  The blog was never like social media, where only the prettiest picture is painted of pretty beaches, athletic kids, all short and filtered.  The Blog was never filtered, and never 120 words or less and never painted with pretty pastels.  It was a mainline into my thinking, strategy, emotions, a counterintuitive way to market expensive homes for sure.

But, for better or worse, it set us apart as authentic and real, not glossy and overproduced.

But those days are over, those perilous over-leveraged, under-experienced days that produced an unlikely success story.  Now I struggle to be inspired by the daily outrages I encounter, struggle to be inspired by the wrongs hoisted on me - now we just call someone and solve the problem.  We may even yet fail, or achieve less over the next 20 years than we did in the previous, but that denouement would be more methodical and controlled than the wild stallion of the ride over the last 20 years and 200 homes, where every day brought some insurmountable issue that required cash we didn't have and experience we didn't possess.  Now I'm surrounded by professionals of all sorts, at all levels, and our cash flow is strong, our sales consistent, and our brand pronounced.

Had to head down to Miami to scout locations for my 50th birthday party, which will be attend by 20+ family and friends for 3 days of relaxation.

One of our favorite farmhouses that Catskill Farms built a few years back in Olivebridge NY is being sold and we are honored to represent it through our real estate company, Lazy Meadows Realty.

The youth football league I coached - 8-10 year olds - went 8-0 including winning the championship.  Lucas, my son, was the QB so that was neat.  He can be a bit ornery when it comes to Dad-coaching, so I'm glad and relieved to report that we pulled it off, relationship intact, trophy in hand.  GREAT group of kids.

Fun group of kids over for Lucas' 11 birthday party.  Fit all 9 in my car for a short drive.

Continue to improve my residence in Milford PA, this fall concentrating on the front hillside that was overgrown and untamed.  May Landscaping did a great job reclaiming the hill, carving a small path, and planting a bunch of wildflowers.  Next spring should be spectacular.

Having a large stone wall built.

And this past September did long road trip from Santa Rosa to Seattle with 2 college friends and one of their friends.

And even remembered to buy a card for my Ex for her birthday.

That's a small sampling of the events in the Life of Charles Petersheim. All is good, even for a 'restless and jealous mind' (John Prine lyric).