Day 3 Granting a Wish...

You are about to become part of an amazing event! The granting of a wish...to myself. There was a commercial a few seasons ago~By the department store Sears~Give a gift, grant a wish. It has stayed with me. What is the only thing from stopping you from granting a wish for someone? I bet you will say it is money! I too have always held the belief that the only difference between me and "them" is money...how often do we say "If I only had the money?" Well, I have changed my perspective! I now know the only thing standing in my way of my dreams is ...ME. And 2 days ago I decided to get out of my way. This blog is going to be an open diary of my journey to grant a wish that is over 20 years old. I call it "The Birth of a Deli" Before you chuckle, let me say that like a woman who can't get pregnant~that is what a deli is to me. This is the conception and if I am lucky enough to carry it through to fruition, it will indeed be like a birth for me, and I will love like one of my own children.
Ahhhh Children!!! At the mention of children I should tell you a little bit about myself. I am 43 years old, married to my best friend~who BTW~would love nothing better than to see my dream come true so he could quit his job and ride on my coat tails for awhile! We have 4 sons~yes I said 4~the youngest of which was quite a surprise for everyone, especially me. At the time my youngest was 7 and I was happily managing a small hotel 2 minutes from my house and his school. Life was good we had a little money, had a little fun...maybe too much! Upon coming home from a holiday party in 2006 we failed to use good discretion and BAM!! Our easy days were over for awhile...too bad we didn't know those were the easy days. I was miserable I thought I was doomed to be changing diapers forever~and then in the middle of my mid-life crisis my lovely son, the oldest then 19, calls to say he too is expecting a baby. My brain went into overload I was stuck, forever, raising babies...my dreams were over, my family was going to need me too much for me to ever be able to devote the time it would take to build my career.
Fast forward and I mean FAST!!! These beautiful boys~yes both babies were boys~have become the light of our lives! They are gorgeous and strong and full of mischief...and they are both going to turn 3!!! this fall~you know what that means? PRESCHOOL!!!
It dawned on me sometime around New Years that if I got off my extended materninty leave butt and became "pregnant" with my Deli that maybe, just maybe in 9 months when these babies are ready for school I will be ready to open my business.
So having just watched the movie Julie and Julia I was inspired to blog...I think it is less likely I will give up if I put it in print. I am also hoping for a big support group, so please read, enjoy, suggest, critique and tell your friends~
And just to clarify one last thing~todays title Day 3 refers to the fact that 2 days ago I inquired about renting commerical space to cook in if I got any catering jobs. I got a very positive response from the woman I spoke to and it pumped me up enough to move forward on some things I have been holding back on. I aslo approached another woman who had, in the past, asked me about doing some catering for her. I am very bad about that, I tend to wait for people to call me back~I have decided to be totally pro-active in that respect and forge ahead even if it makes me feel slightly pushy or uncomfortable. She too was eager to talk about her plans. Yesterday Day 2 I sent out a sample menu with prices to the potential client~another insanely hard thing for me to do~OY! PRICES!! I love what I do so much that it actually pains me to tell people how much I need to do it. Now don't get me wrong, the work is very hard and I love being paid!!! But to tell the people, at the begining of a new event, how much it is going to cost is a hurdle I have to go over every time~I am trying hard to convince myself I am worth it.
It is a very hard thing to do...this is not going to be an easy journey
But I am going to take it one day at a time, and every time I get a positive response or a lead on a job or am lucky enough to secure a job~it will be like a baby kicking and growing stronger every day...I too hope to become stronger in the process.