Happy Valentine’s Day!

Five years ago, my husband and I were featured in a local magazine’s Valentine’s Day article, Stories of Food, Love, and Partnership. Three years later, we had to close our restaurant. This is the story of our first Valentine’s Day after that.

It was just weeks after closing, I was in excruciating pain from a recent neck injury. This was our first Valentine’s Day alone together in… forever? No work, no kids at home—just us.

Chad, my husband, said he’d make Keto sashimi for me, using daikon radish instead of rice, and he’d roll it up like sushi. I asked him what he’d like me to bake for dessert. Before you think baking with a neck injury sounds self-sacrificing, being active actually helped alleviate the pain. He requested a Keto Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake. I’d never made one before, but I found a great recipe—and it was amazing!

Valentine’s night was cold and snowy, so I made a fire in our woodstove. We laid a blanket on the floor in front of it and enjoyed our meal there. For a moment, we wondered where our favorite guests were and felt grateful that our employees had found great jobs. But mostly, we stayed in the moment, enjoying each other’s company in the peace and quiet of the crackling fire.

Everyone thought we would divorce after closing the restaurant. It was devastating—like losing a job, a work family, and a work home all at once. They didn’t think any marriage could survive three major life traumas at the same time. Everyone except us, that is. We knew we could support each other through it.

We had been through difficult times before. We learned how to argue constructively—and how to support each other.

People saw us arguing and said, “Your marriage can’t survive this.”

“We’re fine,” we said, “it’s just part of the process.”

Today, Chad has a fun semi-retired 'hobby job,' and he fully supports me in my coaching. Through my work, I honor our restaurant by helping ADHD leaders unlock their creativity and resilience to make the world a better place. My absolute favorite part of owning the restaurant was developing our team members—many of whom probably had ADHD.

Have you ever been though a challenge that made you stronger? Please share your story below.