Come On In

Hello! Welcome! Glad to have you! Oh... me? I'm Bri... I'm new here too. Well, I'm not new to the blog world but I am new to this blog because, well, it's a new blog! I have two other blogs, one was about my previous life as a mom of 5 and an Army wife and the other was poetry... which was also about my life, mostly angsty teen & pre-teen life stuff. I would love to say this blog is different but it's not... it is also about my life. The difference is, this blog is about me finally figuring out what I want to do with my life. Not that being a mom wasn't the greatest thing to be but after my marriage fell apart I realized quickly that momming doesn't pay the bills. Who knew? 

So, this spoiled and privileged mom of five was forced to figure out how to survive financially when her husband was discharged from the Army, turned to alcohol, and decided our marriage was no longer what he wanted.* It has probably been the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my almost 40 years of life and probably the thing I needed most. 

In 2016, before my husband and I officially separated, I was able to find a job to help pay the bills. It wasn't the best paying job but it was something. It allowed me to be home with my kids when they needed me and free every evening to shuttle them to and from their sports and activities. With five kids, that was a lot of shuttling and my job allowed me to be there. It also allowed me to take time off as needed and my boss was always understanding of my chaotic home situation that often left me in need of a mental health break from my job. 

Two years later I decided it was time to go back to school. The financial aid would pay for my schooling and the student loans would help pay the bills. I always loved school but I never knew what I really wanted to do. When I was younger I wanted to be a veterinarian, in high school I wanted to own a daycare, as a young adult I was content being an Army wife and mom. When we lived in Hawaii I went to school for phlebotomy and would have gotten my certificate had moving back to the mainland not gotten in the way of my internship. I didn't feel like it was really for me anyway. Then I settled on nursing school. I dove in. I took the ACT, I took the TEAS, I passed all my pre-requisites and I was accepted into the nursing program at the local community college. Unfortunately, my financial aid ran out and my part-time, super flexible job wasn't going to cover my tuition. I gave up my nursing seat so someone else could have it and I focused on myself and my family.

In the middle of all the chaos I met a man that turned my world upside down... in a good way. He was everything I didn't know I needed. He made me feel like I could do anything. I was able to quit smoking, move out of my marital home, take on a second job, dabble in reselling, quit a job, and start a home based business. Without him, none of that would have been possible... okay, so it was all possible but he made it easier on me. I was able to keep my head above water because he wasn't going to let me drown. 

Now, here we are, almost 8 months after starting a business page on Facebook with almost 700 followers! And that's what this blog is all about. It's about my journey as a business owner. A mom of five, a woman going through a divorce, and an entrepreneur working with her boyfriend to grow a home-based business into a full fledged career. Stick around and watch me "Mind Bri's Business."**

*It was a wee bit more complicated than that but in the end that was the final pieces of the puzzle falling apart