I go to the post office almost every day thanks to my wonderful customers.  My morning routine is simple...leave with the boys, stop at the post office, hit the coffee drive-thru, drop the boys at school, and head to work.  Every time I go up the stairs I think they are the strangest steps on the planet. They have a short rise ~ I don't know if that's the right way to describe the distance between steps but you get the drift. They are so short that it feels strange to take one step at a time but it's a little awkward to take them two at a time.

When we were 25, Dan decided he wanted to go back to school to become a pharmacist. We already went to college and had jobs. I was an accountant at a graphic design firm and Dan worked at Procter & Gamble. Why not try something else? Around the same time we wanted to try to start our family. We didn't know if either would happen so we tried for both. He only applied locally (aka one school) because I would have to keep my job for us to stay afloat. We were lucky and both things happened ~ he was accepted at the University of Cincinnati and I got pregnant. Alexa was only six weeks old when he started pharmacy school. Why not, right? It makes total sense to leave your full-time job to go back to school when you have a new baby at home. Did I mention it was a four year program? Some might say we are a little nuts. I second that.

As Dan was getting towards the end of pharmacy school we wanted to try for another child. Without going into the details it simply wasn't happening. After Dan graduated he did a residency (why not add a 5th year to this mix when you've already done four?) at the VA Hospital and they had really good insurance coverage, which included fertility benefits. Unheard of, right? My gut said we needed to do it. I talked him into seeing the specialist. Our whole reason for not doing it was the fear of having multiples. They day we met with the doctor he looked at me and said "you know those odds of having multiples with fertility drugs are BS, right? I read the information and know the odds." Fast forward to the day I was having an ultrasound...I'll never forget how hard he jabbed my side when we saw those little circles on the screen. That night in bed I remember saying "if you want to tell me I told you so, now is the time to do it." He didn't, because he's a great man, and we went down this path together. We are so blessed to have Trevor and Gavin and the rest is history. Some say having twin boys is crazy.  I second that.

What on earth does this have to do with owning a boutique and post office stairs? Everything. Was it crazy to start a boutique when I had more than enough on my plate? When I get trigger happy late at night and order a lot of new inventory is it scary? When I order from a new company is it scary to see if it's good quality and true to size? Will I really find customers? Will they like the clothes when they arrive? Will I be able to build a website? Will my brand resonate with anyone? Will I write good product copy? Will I be able to pay for my business credit card bill? Some might say I'm crazy for opening a boutique. I second that.

With all the choices we made along the way we took the two steps at a time mentality. It felt a little wobbly, unsteady, scary, and uncomfortable. It's risky. It's hard. You might miss a step and fall flat on your face. You might hurt yourself. But if you never try, and you take the safe route by taking one step at a time at the post office, you may never reach your goal. 

Dan had the vision to take two steps at a time and go back to school. I learned a lot from him and decided to take my two steps with Tag.

"You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore" - Christopher Columbus

XO, Julie

The photo is of Alexa in September 2003 on Dan's last day of work before starting school. 

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