When Life Gives You Lemons…Find Joy in Each Day: Celebrating Four Years of Penderview Events
When life gives you lemons…there’s probably a lot of different things you could make with it.
Today, I, Anna, am sitting here on my little couch, in my beloved condo, on the section of where it wraps around affectionately known as “my throne.” And, as the technical “queen” of this couch, the owner of this amazing little home on Penderview Terrace, and the current owner of Penderview Events as well…I am blessed.
I’m also sitting here today recognizing that it’s been four years since Penderview Events was birthed.
Four years (and exactly 1 month and 1 day) since The Christmas Formal 2021 was an idea birthed (October 1st, 2021).
Four years (and exactly 1 day) since my sweet, calculated friend Amanda flippantly mentioned, “Anna, you’re really good at planning this little Christmas party. Why don’t you just start a business with it?” (November 1st, 2021). (I am eternally grateful to you, Amanda).
Four years (and approaching exactly 1 month) since The Christmas Formal 2021 (December 4th, 2021).
It was at that holiday party, that little idea that I had, that this business was birthed. I filed for the LLC for Penderview Events on December 1st, 2021, and within a matter of a few days after, this business was born.
I recall speaking in front of the 220+ people at this event as it was about to kick off. They’re all standing there, and we’re all celebrating this moment: being out again together in the heart of DC, as the COVID pandemic is coming to a close (hallelujah), and really, really enjoying each other’s company. Isn’t that all business is anyways, meeting genuine needs? Solving real problems with real, genuinely good solutions? It definitely is that, but, I also think it’s a bit more…
I remember getting up in front of this crowd, and I said a little something about December 4th, a little something about my Opa, and a little something about how this party wasn’t just a moment to celebrate the holidays, but also, the launch party for this beloved business.
December 4th, 2017 was one of the hardest days of my adult life. And, ironically as I’m writing this now I’m realizing…that was exactly four years prior to Penderview Event’s inception. Wow.
On that day in my life, I had written a one-page journal entry. I usually was the person who could fill a journal with plenty of pages in each sitting on how good life was, just how much I had to be thankful for, and why life was worth the living.
However, on this really bleak, sad day I found myself journaling about pain, suffering, longing, despair, and having lost all hope. I was beyond hopelessness at that point in my life: no longer crying out to God for my breakthrough, completely resolved to have lost what I thought had been mine all along: love, joy, peace, and really at my core, hope.
One line from this powerful moment in my life in 2017 at Millie Joe’s Coffee Shop in Charlottesville, VA, I wrote…
They say that pain is the megaphone through which you rouse a deaf world, but here in this place, all I hear is silence…Are you out there? Where are you?
And so, I shared about that powerful, poignant, painful moment from my past exactly four years prior to the Penderview Events launch party. And, in that place, in Georgetown on a cold, winter night in December of 2021…
I heard joy. I heard celebration. I heard the hum of people and a place having been desperate for connection, finally, finding it. I heard the joy of a people celebrating coming back together, looking their best, and being able to celebrate all that had been lost, now…being restored.
The Christmas Formal 2021 was a portico, if you will, It was a gateway to a new way of living for me…and for many others. It was the tipping point, if you will. I had gone from death four years prior, to life. And, four years later, there is definitely tons of love, joy, peace, and hope over here on Penderview Terrace.
The queen is on her throne, and loving her life. So..is God out there? 100%. Is He even right here, next me me right now as I’m writing this? 100%. And, even better, is He inside my heart, united with my spirit, and saving my soul for eternity? You bet He is.
And so, when life gives you lemons, they say that you’re to make lemonade. I guess because lemonade is both sour and sweet?
It’s a combination of the highs and lows, the bitterness of life and the moments of celebration and happiness. Lemonade tastes great, exactly because - I guess - it’s like a portico too. Between the sourness of life, and the sweet. And I guess the more sugar you add to the mix, with some freshly squeezed lemon juice, and coupled with some really nice ice cubes in a glass cup, that is divine.
There’s probably a lot more to be written here from where this all came from. Today, me, Anna - I’m celebrating the past four years of Penderview Events. The past four years of Christmas Formals, and Cornhole & Cocktails, over 70 weddings coordinated, 40 private events planned, 3 corporate events executed, and a lifetime of amazing memories made. How could it get much better than this?
I mean, I do still believe - as many people say - that “the best is yet to come.” And, given I’m now a person full of hope and expectation for a life that I love, that feels really good to write, and to say out loud to myself…and others, too.
As we like to say over here at Penderview…
No matter the story, we bring it to life. ✨
“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world...”
“God [shouts for joy!] in our pleasures, speaks [with delight!] in our conscience, and shouts [saying I’m here to rescue you!] in our pain: [all of these things are] His megaphone to rouse a deaf world…”
