Only a few days until I’ve been living CarFree for one year and as I think back to what my life was like a year ago, I almost have to laugh.  I guess I expected living CarFree to bring some level of calm and order to my life.  That just isn’t the case.

I decided that this week would be a good opportunity to reflect on the last year of my life, how it has changed me, changed those around me and all the people who have made these past 363 days possible and great.

Well, this morning I came across a blog post about entrepreneur’s wives.  Full disclosure, I searched the term because I’m curious how many relationships have been destroyed by the obsessive compulsive disorder that is required to create a successful start-up and I want to avoid that collateral damage.  I read a few posts and articles and was feeling pretty good because I felt like I had a decent handle on my priorities, etc to navigate the start-up/relationship minefield until I hit this blog post.

Being an entrepreneur’s wife, at least in the early stages, means many things. Kind of like being the wife of a graduate student. The sideways glances, the grimacing laugh. The, “How are you?” question followed by a, “Fine,” in an odd voice that is only best described as a mix between crazy and clueless. Underneath that, “fine,” you feel exactly that. You are fine, but you do in fact feel crazy and pretty clueless about what the outcome of this adventure will be. ( Paxventurs Blogpost The Entrepreneur’s Wife.)

These are all true and great observations but I quickly panicked when I realized that the deck is stacked against me.  The author equates being with an entrepreneur to being with a grad student in the “sideways glances” so what am I supposed to do.  I’m an entrepreneur and a grad student!

While I’m sure my situation is not unique, I have to wonder how much one person can take(I mean the GF).  The uncertainty of dating a grad student, living with an entrepreneur while dealing with the constant hustle and that “obsessive compulsive” behavior.

I guess one of the best lessons I’ve learned living CarFree over the past year is that the answer is on me.  It’s part of my job to recognize these facts, address them and find a solution but at the same time swallow my pride and ask for help.