It's good to be the king

So, registration for my nineteenth event opened last night. Last year, my biggest year ever, opening night I got about 80 people, which was a record. In the past, opening night would yield anywhere from one (ouch) to forty (meh) people. As of right now I have about 160 people and enough money to live on until summer. Hello!

Is it possible that after two decades of struggle I have at last hit my stride with this event? Have I finally "made it"?

I am excited (I was psyching myself up for potentially having an "off" year in preparation for next year's giant 20th event celebration), but also a little scared. Little mom-and-pop events like this do great when they're small and manageable; you kind of know everybody and people tend to follow the rules. Once the event reaches a certain tipping point...well...things get crowded and chaotic and scary. Already I've had to handle several bitter emails complaining about how quickly my lower-priced tiers sold out (ummm...you snooze you lose), one guy even filing a fraudulent charge complaint against me as a way to get his money back on PayPal when he saw he didn't win my free pass contest (I will be challenging this). So, yeah. It's good to be the king. But it's also a little scary.

Today I had an electrician over to see about re-wiring my bedrooms before doing all the work to move the boys into mine; I am hoping to start the work this month. The contractor reminded me that once I order the hardwood it needs to "rest" inside my house for two weeks before it can be installed, and she said the work (floor installation, ceiling plastering, painting), will take another two weeks. Two weeks of having my life turned upside down and sleeping in the (open) dining room. Oh, it's going to be SO awful. Part of me wants to chuck everything and just switch bedrooms by moving furniture and the heck with the rest of it. But. The money is there now, and may not be again. The time to do it is now. I know people with toddlers and new babies all living in one room while they camp out with friends while their house sells, so it could be worse, right?