A New Chapter

A few months ago I shared that Blake decided to end his career as a chef to pursue something that allowed him to be more focused on our family. It was a change that I welcomed, even though it came with some uncertainty. A few months ago, Blake told me he wanted to own a gym, and through determination and fearlessness, I am happy to report that today he signed the paperwork to purchase our very own gym.

One may ask how someone goes from being a chef to a gym owner, and while it seems to be a 180 degree change, for Blake, it makes sense. See, about a year and a half ago, Blake got really into fitness. He got serious – he started going to the gym just about every night, he lost 40 pounds and wound up in the best shape of his life. The change in him made him happier and made us stronger. And so I think that experience inspired him to be part of the transformation in others.  This new career also makes sense because after over a decade in the kitchen (and aside from it being a true testament to a strong work-ethic), he knows how to manage people, run a profitable business, survive in a stressful work environment and be customer-focused – and all of that translates perfectly into going into this kind of business for himself.

Obviously, there are some benefits for me with this change. Most notably, he can no longer use the excuse that he’s been in the kitchen all day (and therefore does not want to be in the kitchen at home.) Nope. He’s done with that one. No more late nights and all weekend shifts; no more “busy times” that interfere with holidays and special events. Yes, he’ll be working hard. Yes, he’ll put in his fair share of hours. But working for himself means it will be on his time…. our time. And I am so, so looking forward to that. I am looking forward to our family not just being his number one priority in theory – it will now be reality.

In making the decision to own a gym, we looked at a few different deals. And I have to admit that some of them made me nervous. And while I know that it takes risk to see reward, I was having trouble with biting off the amount of risk that appeared to be inherent in some of the deals. But then I prayed about it. I prayed to find peace with it. I prayed to be supportive even if I had my doubts. I prayed that it would all work out. And then out of the blue, a new deal presented itself that was better than we could have ever imagined. A deal that was less risky than the others, already profitable and 6 miles from our house. In the 9 years that Blake and I have been together, he has never worked 6 miles away from our house. It was like God heard all of my fears and gave us this deal to say, yep, I was listening.

I am so excited about what is ahead for our family. I think it’s easy to take family time for granted, but after spending so long where he was all but absent, I hope I never do. I hope I continue to appreciate our time together, and the freedom that this new venture will afford us. I’m feeling blessed and looking forward to this new chapter.