As Christmas rolls around, I find it’s a good time to slow down and take stock. Not just of what’s going on around the nursery and with our crew, but also of my own family and personal life.

Things seem to be changing faster than ever these days. If you don’t hit the brakes once in a while and look around, you might wake up wondering where you are, how you got there, and if you even enjoyed the ride.

Like Ferris Bueller said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

This holiday season, let’s do just that: stop and look around. Look at your business. How’s your crew doing? How are their families holding up? Are there issues you’ve been putting off dealing with? How are things with your vendors and customers — any fences that need mending? 

Then look at your family. Are you happy? How are your spouse, kids, siblings, and parents doing? Are there small things you could do, or words you could say to make the home front better?

I was lucky to grow up in a loving family. Sure, we had our share of arguments and full-blown fights, just like everyone else. But the holidays always had a way of pulling us back together. It was a time to put differences aside and spend some real quality time together.

That feeling — coming back together and reconnecting — is something I’ve tried to carry forward in my own life.

These days, I’m fortunate to have two families: my family at home and my family here at the nursery. It’s important to me that my employees, vendors, and customers all feel like part of that family. We work hard all year, and we make sure to take time to enjoy each other’s company too. Through the summer months, we fire up the grill for carne asada BBQs, and a couple times a year, we let the crew pick a restaurant and we all go out together. Those moments mean a lot; they remind us that work isn’t just about production. It’s about people.

At Powell’s Nursery, we also host an annual Christmas party for our crew and their families. It’s one of my favorite nights of the year. I get to do something for them that’s not about work, it’s about saying “thank you.”

And it’s not just the employees who need to hear it. Their families deserve it, too. Our team spends a big part of their lives at work, and their families make sacrifices so they can do that. They should know they’re appreciated as well.

My wish this holiday season is simple: take time to appreciate your people at home, at work, and everywhere in between. Because it’s those relationships — the roots we put down and the people we nurture — that make life, and Christmas, truly special.

And like Ferris said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

From the December 2025 issue of Digger magazine | Download PDF of article