I am facing a day of a work after a sleepless night. This is not the first sleepless night and it won't be the last. I haven't updated my blog in close to four months because I have been living my dream. So many people in life know about the recent changes in my life, and you might already too. There is one thing I can tell you, life your dream is amazing but exhausting.

For years my life has been mainly book focused. I am about to take that to a whole new level. About two weeks ago I dove in and bought an independent bookstore in Cedar City, Utah. Over the past 13 years Utah has become my home in a way that the place I was born could never match. And over the past 13 years I have been a customer of the very bookstore I now own. It is surreal and amazing all at the same time.

Previous to working in the store for a few months I knew that owning a bookstore was something I always wanted to do, but would probably never be able to accomplish. But buying a bookstore with a built in customer base was one of the easiest things I have ever done in my life. For now some things about the bookstore will change and some will stay the same.

For the next year I have the guidance and mentoring of the previous owner. The store, Braun Books, is currently named after him and the tradition he has built in this town for over ten years. But a new name will come in time and more of my finger prints and foot prints trailing through the store.  Last night I woke up at 2am worried that I didn't lock the door correctly. It has only been a few months, but I have never forgotten to lock the door. This worrying is just part of my life now.

From the moment my business partner and previous sole proprietor of Braun Books came to me and told me he was thinking about selling the store there has been many sleepless nights. There was a whole month of tossing and turning and worrying about mistakes I made throughout the day.

It may be presumptuous to say that I was born to do this, but I have struggled to accomplish a lot of things in my life and all of them help me be a better bookseller. And after all those past struggles, buying the store has been one of the easiest things I have ever done in my life.

Life is different. More so than I ever could of expected. I thought I was buying a sleeping bookstore in a small town but most days there is very little down time. Life is rich, yet exhausting. The personalities that wander in and out of the bookstore make it a lush experience. And sharing books and ideas with these people and personalities is one of the greatest experiences I have ever known.

Over the next few days I hope to share with you some pictures from the store, though it can be hard to find time any more. Last night I found time to read for the first time since the possibility of owning a bookstore emerged for me. I am beyond excited for the new changes in my life.