In the Beginning

Here we are. At the beginning of a new year,a new decade and for me a new adventure in writing.

Let's start with the basics. Who am I? Isn't that the magic question we are all faced with. In its most carnal form I am of course Kirby Kirkpatrick, husband of Paula and father of two wonderful teenagers Kayla and Kori. I am extremely blessed to have a house and a family who loves me and I have no doubt that I am daily wrapped up in God's love.

However, I am also recently unemployed. Ok technically I have been unemployed for the past ten years but I have filled my time as a small business owner and instead chose the moniker of self-employed. At the end of last year the years of working, investing and toiling while trying to build a successful retail business caught up to us and we had to close the doors of the business leaving me "unemployed" and the family in a less then wonderful financial position.

Like the end of any long term relationship there has been a lot of lost sleep and grieving over the decision to lay off employees and admit that our dream business was no longer going to work. Any time you engage in the adventure of entrepreneurship it is a gamble. Just like the Vegas card shark you are throwing your chips on the table and hoping the cards will come up in your favor. Sometimes you take the pot and sometimes you get taken. For us it just didn't work out. A worldwide recession was not in the business plan.

So that brings us to the new year and the new decade and I am faced with a new adventure. How do I put the pieces together, build an income that can support my family, remain dedicated to being a great husband and great father and continue to have faith that when I am through this season I will be better off the before. I invite you to join me on this journey for at least the next year as I share what will certainly be a roller coaster ride. Not because I want you to feel sorry for me but because we can all take comfort knowing that life isn't about the problems we face but about the way we choose to face them.