Third Shift Entrepreneur

Chapter 6Breaking Patterns

Matt returned home by 5:00 p.m., having begun the day at the Third Shift Entrepreneur meeting and going into the office to catch up on work. He grabbed the mail and changed from his work clothes and into something casual before his meeting with Yisel that night.

He stopped himself, hearing Regis’s voice: Break the pattern. What did that mean? Regis gave the example of coming home, watching TV, and drinking two beers. Matt thought he wasn't that guy, though making dinner and drinking a bottle of wine was not out of the norm for Sabina and him. He loved those nights. Was that bad? Was it wasting time to spend a night cooking with your spouse? I get the point if I were some lazy bum who mindlessly watched TV, Matt thought, but I'm not, so do I need to break this pattern?

Resolved not to fall off Regis’s wagon before he had even started, Matt was intent on breaking a pattern. He looked at his comfortable sweats calling him and at the bedside clock: 5:15 p.m. Looking out the window showed a beautiful spring day, temperatures in the mid-60s. Scrap the normal routine. He had not been for a jog after work in as long as he could remember. Running was something he enjoyed, but running after work was something he almost never did because he was usually too exhausted by then, at least that’s what he told himself.

So, with a strong resolve, he rustled through the bottom drawer, pulled out running shorts and a shirt, threw on his running shoes, and grabbed his ...