How I Begin Before I Bake
Before my feet even touch the floor, I begin.
It’s quiet.
Still.
That moment between sleep and the day ahead.
And in that space, I thank God for another day of sobriety.
Not in a grand way.
Not with a long prayer.
Just a simple acknowledgment…
Thank you.
It is the first thing I do.
And it sets the tone for everything that follows.
There was a time in my life when my days began very differently.
Rushed. Unsteady. Uncertain of what the day might hold or how I would meet it.
But now…
I begin with gratitude.
And that one small act grounds me in a way nothing else can.
After that, I move into my morning rhythm.
Coffee.
Scripture.
Journaling.
I write out a gratitude list—not because I have to, but because I need to remember.
To remember what is good.
To remember what is steady.
To remember what has been given, even on the days that feel uncertain.
It brings me back to center.
And then…eventually…
I make my way into the kitchen.
This morning, it was 144 Cowboy Cookies.
What used to take me an entire day—mixing, baking, rotating trays, managing time and temperature—now takes less than an hour with my Simply Bread Co. oven.
Less time.
More efficiency.
But something important has not changed.
The way I begin.
Because what happens before the oven turns on…
matters more than what happens inside of it.
The intention.
The grounding.
The gratitude.
That carries into everything I make.
Every batch.
Every loaf.
Every cookie.
Today, as I stood in my kitchen, trays of cookies cooling in front of me, I felt it again.
Gratitude.
For this work.
For this little bakery.
For the ability to do something with my hands that feeds people in a way that feels meaningful.
For the journey that brought me here.
Owning and operating this bakery isn’t something I take lightly.
It is something I hold with care.
Because I know where I came from.
And I know what it took to get here.
So before I bake…
I begin.
With gratitude.
And that, more than anything, is what shapes what I make.
Warmly~
Kathy
Art of The Crumb