where we are....

Today

....today after fifteen years of employment with the same company my husband gave his notice.

(this two toned paint job is going this weekend)

 In an economy, where people are scrambling for jobs, we are walking away from one. I say "we" because I have prayed and long suffered right along with him all these years. He enjoyed his work but it was the company, the management, and the building that made his work life at times intolerable. Yet, he tolerated.

That's the man that he is. The kind of man that believes a husband provides for the family. That no matter what, it is his job to awake early and put in a full days work. No matter how hard the work may be. He is the husband that encouraged me to leave my professional career two years ago because he knew how my heart longed to raise our children.

 And so today we chart a new path in this Earthly journey.

Just like we knew two years ago, what we were supposed to do, today we know what we are supposed to do. In are fourteen years of marriage, Jason has done one job. He is EXCEPTIONAL (and I'm not just saying that because he is my husband) at what he does. It's his gift. I don't mean the actual work part of his job but the social aspect of his work.  People love him. People he has seen everyday for fifteen years, and people that pass through once a year and stop everytime at the same place just to see and visit with him. The thing is he loves them too. He loves the old retired service men that stop by with their war stories. He loves the older ladies that flatter and tease him. They tell him how "easy on the eyes" he is. His heart is troubled, when a longtime friend/customer comes in to talk because he received the worst news of his life. Cancer. It's spread throughout his nodes. He has no family of his own. Jason is quick to hug, to tell him that he loves him, and of course we pray. The behind the scenes, we pray for a friends total healing.

I tell you all of this to reveal the history of why we are doing what we are doing, today.

(Big red, has got to go. What were they thinking?) 

Like I said before, he loves what he does. Over the years, customers have asked him,"Jason, why don't you manage this place?" It's not like he hasn't been offered the opportunity MANY times over.  With a quick NO THANK YOU!!
Although, he does manage. When an employee has a problem, they come to Jason. They all want to work for him. When the night is busy and chaotic, he is the one that stays calm and gets the job done. The customers find him if there is a problem. He manages.  He can do all the jobs in the building. The customers love him, his co-workers love him, most of management like him. Until now, all the previous year's managers have liked him. They have always counted on him to handle business. For the first time in fifteen years, he works for an all female staff. All but one, love him. The one, she likes nobody. From the sound of it, she seems unstable. I won't go into detail at how difficult she can be, but she has done her best to break a man down.
(I think) Perhaps, it had to come to this, for us to take this leap.

To do what we have talked about and planned all these years.

 To make it happen.

After years of hearing,"you should open your own place."

With twenty years of combined experience between us, yes, I was in the business for years before getting my degree.

We are opening our own restaurant.

TailGators

(in the construction phase, all that back counter and wall is coming out to make a kitchen)

Just a nice place with a sports atmosphere.

Serving wings, Boars Head subs and salads, and maybe some gator tail too. Tailgating food.

We know the statistics for new restaurants.

One in three don't make it a year. We don't walk into this without knowing. We walk into this armed with our FAITH IN the LORD, our family, and the encouragement of sixteen years worth of friends and patrons to support us.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart;

do not depend on your own understanding.

Seek his will in all you do,

and he will show you which path to take.

Proverbs 3:5-6

My blogger friends, I just want to say, that my priorities as wife and mother will never change. I completely give of myself as encourager to my husband. I will always home school my children. Just not always at home:)  We have to find our way and settle into this new path. Trust in Jesus and loving this family, will always be what matters most.

In humility and gratitude,

~Brandi