Tuesday, March 22, 2016

The Longbine Group (our family as a company)

Before delving into something known to destroy marriages, bring on bouts of depression and anxiety, and cause financial hardship - we knew we needed to circle our wagons, proverbially. Eric and I planned a date night and sat down over dinner at one of our favorite restaurants (Meriwether's) for some quality time. I confessed to him that I was feeling overwhelmed. As a classic type-A personality, I love having ownership over our household details under normal circumstances. Even in the preliminary phases of this endeavor - appliance shopping, starting the loan process (more on that in my next post), and hiring the architect and builder, I felt the stress surpassing optimal levels. The thing is, it's not like life just stops so we can do this. Meanwhile, I was planning an epic birthday bash for the twins, trading in our two cars for one new car, going through some major transition at work, and winning the John Lennon Songwriting Contest (more on that later). 

"Normally I like being the CFO" I told my handsome husband over my pear martini. "but right now, it feels like a lot. I'm CFO, HR, merchandising, childcare, cleaning and maintenance... and now project manager." 
"Hmm" he said thoughtfully. "I like that. Let's think of our household like a business. So if you're CFO, what am I?" 
"You're COO- Chief Operations Officer" I offered.
"I like that" he smiled. 

And just like that, we had a plan. He would be COO and step up his game on all things facilities and household management. We named our kitten Steve CEO (obviously) - you know, the nepotistic twenty something playboy type who just wants to ruffle some feathers. Older kitty Ella would be head of security as she can most commonly be found guarding a door somewhere and hissing at passersby. The chinchilla would be customer relations as the most social being in our home. Easton we named CTO - Chief Technology Officer since he's clearly the most tech savvy Longbine. Xander will run R&D. 

We had a family meeting and talked through how we'll all be more mindful of this family unit and our respective roles. I'm pretty sure it sunk in. Easton put a finger in his nose, which I am pretty sure means "I'm in" - and Xander stripped down to his undies. 

All joking aside though, I think before any family enters into something like this, it's important to put love and respect first. Keep the family focus. Hold hands more. Hug more. Take more road trips. Laugh as much as possible. That way, the bumps ahead won't feel so bumpy. 

Also, we couldn't do any of it without our "village". Nanny Kamina, Babu, Grandma Sparkle... and everyone who loves this little family.

Wish us luck? 

xo
Jenn
CFO - The Longbine Group 

PS - Special shout out to Josh and Jessie for naming our company... 

2 comments:

  1. It might go without saying, but feels a whole lot better with the saying - I love your writing style!

    ReplyDelete