12/31/2024
Not easy trying to sum up 6 years of memories, but I’ll do my best by recapping what i verbally communicated in our final classes yesterday. It’s a long one..
The title in my devotional yesterday morning before the last 5am barre class read, “Knowing the Ending of the Story.” It went on to encourage you to reflect on times you may have wanted to peak at the ending of a book just to see if it what really worth reading or if you would maybe read it differently now that you know the ending.
This had me reflecting heavily on the story of TBR and all of its many chapters.
Had I been able to glance at a few words or phrases in each chapter of this metaphorical book before starting this business and read the words: worldwide pandemic, category 5 Hurricane, back injury, gut walls, replace walls, virtual classes, I probably would have slammed the book shut and thrown it in the trash thinking, “this isn’t worth it just to exercise.”
But, my God, I’m so grateful that TBR was so much more than “just exercise” and that I didn’t foresee those obstacles in 2018 when I was full of hope (and a lot of fear) to bring barre to our community or I would have missed out on one of the best stories of my life.
There have been some incredibly joyful sentences and chapters in our story. So many silly stories shared and loving conversations had. So much grit and grace. SO MUCH RESILIENCE TO OVERCOME. So many memories that bring a smile to my face ear-to-ear… like each and every time a new instructor joined our team, and how organic and fate-driven it was; that time Lauren Foret and I put our speech therapy and dance backgrounds together to create Barre Bitties, pouring into the young girls in our community; all the wildly fun Saturday events we had and the many champagne bottles popped; the wildest 3rd birthday house party fully equipped with delicious food, drinks, several splits, and the most laughs ever 🤪🤪; the many lifetime celebrations of our instructors and clients, from graduations to new jobs to engagements to weddings to babies; the addition of Mat Pilates and Yoga and all the love that arose from two new disciplines; the sweetest class we ever offered - Barre Babies; and finally making the move to a bigger, welcoming space at 612 Barataria (forever grateful for Dufrene’s Driving School for housing us the past few months 🙏🏼).
But we all know the best books are not only filled with happy moments. There were the incredibly daunting, suspenseful, and gloomy sentences and chapters filled with fear, anxiety, depression, infertility, loss, cancer, treatment, broken bones, injuries, sickness, divorce, layoffs, and hurricanes.
Oof. 💔
But when we were together, there was a sense of safety, prayer, and grace that you couldn’t help but lean into. There was always this unspoken, “I got you,” that was felt within our community. 🥹 And when we left class, we all felt a little lighter.
We have been through so much together, gang. And I am forever grateful for having the best sisters to share and feel the good, the bad, and the ugly with the last 5.5 years.
Thank you, each of you, for being the words, phrases, and chapters in the TBR story. I will cherish this story for a lifetime. For now, we’re closing the book on a high note.
Despite the overwhelming tears, this is a happy ending. ❤️
Love you so much,
Janie
