A New Chapter

November 9th, 2013 | Posted by Alison Spath in Life

When I first started this blog, it was all about me.  I wrote day-to-day, journal style entries that documented my meals and workouts.  I had found my groove in what felt like a much healthier life than I’d ever lived before and I was very excited to share what I had learned and how I was working healthy habits into my life as a stay at home mom of two little girls.  I loved reading healthy living blogs and eventually decided to jump in on the fun, despite knowing how weird it was to take pictures of my meals and telling stories about my latest run, bike ride or nutritional experiment.

That was 2009.  These days, I try to write content that is mostly helpful while still being a little funny and doing my best to keep it real and relate-able with a few choice snippets from my everyday life.  We’ve all got these human machines to take care of and since I don’t have a degree in nutrition or exercise, the best I can do is share my own experiences and any good stuff I’m learning, doing or eating (and hopefully without boring us all to tears.)

So while I try not to write snooze-fest posts that are ALL ABOUT ME, I’ve got some exciting news to share today – so indulge me for a moment!  Or skip this post.  That’s fine too.

I took this picture yesterday morning at the start of my run.

Chapter 12

I realized later it was very fitting that I took a picture of “a new dawn”.  Yesterday, Zak left his job to begin working for himself full time.  I’m so happy for him, this is something that he’s wanted for as long as I’ve known him (15 years!) and after months (years) of planning, the time is finally here.  He’s worked really hard to get to this point where we feel ready to make the leap into supporting ourselves as entrepreneurs.  (I would tell you more about what he’s doing but it’s just computer/telecommunications work, he didn’t reinvent the flowbee or anything.)

I’m just really… happy!  And excited.  I’m excited about what this means for our family, and I’m also looking forward to what this change might mean for me too.  I’ve been a stay at home mom for more than seven years now, and while I am eternally grateful to have had this time at home with my children, I am hopeful that Zak working for himself means that there will be a little more time and flexibility for me to pursue my own endeavors too.

The nuggets of self-employment/entrepreneurial wisdom I’m clinging to right now are to do what you love and perhaps more importantly, have multiple streams of income.  I would love to add my own little trickle to our income stream, and I’ve believed for years now that with enough patience and persistence, it’s totally possible to make a living doing what you love.  In my case, “doing what I love” means writing here and maybe one day teaching yoga too.  I also think there’s something to another piece of advice I’ve heard more than once:  tell people what you plan to do.  Well then!  I hope to help support my family doing the things I love.  I see other people do it, I know it’s possible.  I want to do it too.

So that’s it.  Today we’re celebrating the fact that Zak is officially working for himself!  Thank you for reading and thanks for letting me share.


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12 Responses

  • Congratulations! Exciting time! :)

  • sarah says:

    rock on with your bad self! will zak be working from home? I do miss the days when my boy’s professoring kept him working from home at a time I was engaged in my own home-based pursuits. I look forward to hearing about what you cook up, pun not actually intended.

    • Yes! He was already working from home two days a week, but now it will be every day! We’ll see if this turns out be a good thing or if he needs to relocate to the coffee shop down the street when things get a little, errr… “rambunctious” here.

  • mike lally says:

    Congrats to both of you!

  • Katheryn says:

    Congratulations to your whole family!

  • Jen says:

    Congrats! I’m happy for you guys!

  • PK says:

    Congrats Zak and Alison!

  • Lori says:

    Good job on the post! It is not selfish to post something like this, it is affirming, and it is very healthy. Happy for you and your family!

  • Yee Ha!!!!!! Thrilled for you!

  • Kimberly says:

    That’s great for both of you!!!! I wish you both much success, and please let me know if there’s ever anything I can do to help.

  • Lisa says:

    Congrats to Zak and to you! I’m excited for you—the possibilities are endless! I often think about the whole make-money-at-home-doing-what-u-love thing… and I see why it’s hard to actually do something that makes money. I read something about Americans once that really made sense—the reason “we” never master anything is because we dabble in so many things we never commit and stay focused on something long enough to make it “work.” I can see that in myself—doing trainings, picking stuff to focus on, and then… not following all the way through and getting distracted by other options. Life can be wishy washy, and someone once told me that every time I feel fuzzy about it, go back to my original statement about what I want to do. I have 3 phrases/things that pull me back on track and make next steps seem more black and white rather than gray.
    It sounds like you have those things—writing and teaching yoga. And although I don’t know you that well, I can tell you’re going to be amazing at both!

  • Erin says:

    Congratulations, Alison! (And Zak!) Here’s to doing what you love and loving what you do. I’m excited to see where this new chapter takes you. xo, Erin