There’s a rhythm Team 7UP has settled into by now — knock, talk, laugh, knock again, repeat until the Sioux Falls sky starts doing that long, golden Midwest-summer thing right before dusk. Week 10 had all of that familiar rhythm, but it also had something new humming underneath it: the quiet awareness that the summer is entering its final stretch, and every ordinary day is starting to feel a little more worth remembering.
By now, comfort zones aren’t just being stretched — they’ve been stretched, folded, stretched again, and somewhere in there turned into something closer to confidence. Selling books door to door will do that to a person. You learn to recover fast from a “no,” to actually listen when someone wants to talk about their day, and to find the humor in situations you never would have signed up for on paper. Team 7UP has become noticeably more resilient, more adaptable, and — maybe most importantly — more knit together as a team. Ten weeks in, that shows.
Adventures, Big Horns, and a Dog With Zero Boundaries
Some of the best stories this summer haven’t happened at doors at all — they’ve happened in the in-between moments. This week, Liisa, Mari, and Luise decided they wanted to swim in a lake, so, in true 7UP fashion, they simply did. Liisa tracked down a car for the mini road trip, and the group set off — though not before hitting their first real obstacle of the day: which fuel actually goes in the car. There’s now a video circulating of the girls deep in serious debate over this exact question, and it’s exactly as suspenseful as it sounds. Good news for everyone involved — they figured it out, the car survived, and the lake swim happened as planned.
Luise, meanwhile, continued her streak of somehow ending up in the most unusual and wonderful situations. She met a dog this week with absolutely no concept of personal space — a good boy whose favorite move is putting his face directly up against yours, as close as physically possible. She also danced an Estonian national song with a family who welcomed her in, which is the kind of moment that doesn’t show up in a sales pitch training manual but might be one of the realest parts of this whole experience. And in between all that, she tried Ethiopian food made from plantain flour — one more entry in what is turning into a very well-traveled summer palate.
Michael had a day that could’ve gone sideways twice and instead went right both times — two separate bike problems in the same day, and both resolved themselves with almost suspicious speed and good luck. Doors kept opening for him in more ways than one this week, too: he ended up in conversations with people from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Nepal, Bhutan, Thailand, and Taiwan — a reminder that Sioux Falls, South Dakota, of all places, holds an entire world’s worth of stories if you’re willing to knock and ask.
And Parvin? Parvin saw more cows. Specifically, more cows with genuinely impressive horns. South Dakota delivers.
A Flower Power Win for Liisa
This week’s Flower Power recognition goes to Liisa, which means she now has the power to send flowers to anyone, anywhere. It’s a small prize with a nice ripple effect — proof that hard work this week didn’t go unnoticed, and a fun bit of magic to have in her back pocket for whenever the moment feels right.
Taco Bell, Goodbyes, and Three Directions
Sunday looked a little different this time. Instead of gathering in person, the team held their weekly meeting online — because right after, everyone was heading in three different directions: Yankton, Watertown, and Huron. But before the group scattered across South Dakota, all seven of them — Mari, Liisa, Luise, Parvin, Matthias, Gabriel, and Michael — sat down together one more time for breakfast at Taco Bell. There’s a photo of the whole crew from that morning, and it’s the kind of picture that doesn’t need much explanation: seven people, one table, about to head off in separate directions, still finding a reason to laugh before they did.
Looking Ahead
As the final weeks of the summer come into view, Team 7UP is carrying more than sales numbers and mileage logs. They’re carrying lake-swim memories, fuel-debate footage, a dog with no sense of personal space, an Estonian dance shared with strangers who became, for one evening, something like friends. They’re carrying conversations with people from six different countries, cows with big horns, and lucky bike fixes.
Because in the end, this summer was never only about knocking on doors. It’s about becoming a little braver every single day, building friendships that will outlast the summer by years, and quietly collecting a stack of stories that Team 7UP will still be telling — and laughing about — long after the last door has closed.
Team 7UP
SW Eesti 