New business adventure

Caleb and I are buying a practice called Sunnyslope Dental. It's here in South Salem and very close to home. We went out to dinner in March this year for our anniversary with some friends. Dave Swiderski and his wife Stacy. Dave said to Caleb "If you know you want to own your own practice, there is no better time than now to do it. Don't wait. It makes it so much harder and it's great to call a place your own". Caleb and I went home that night and stayed up late talking about what if, what would he do, when is the right time. The next night he was gone and I looked on the internet just to see what was out there. I saw on OHSU's website that Lisa Garlock had posted that her dad was selling his practice. We know Lisa well because her husband David was in Caleb's graduating class at OHSU. He specialized in orthodontia. Caleb just went to Colorado to visit them at their new house where they also bought a practice. We had no idea Lisa's dad was ready to sell. We have talked about her dad's practice many times over the years. Since Lisa's mom passed away 8 years ago, her dad just felt lost and wasn't sure what to do anymore. Instead of retiring, he just kept slowly downsizing the practice just to stay busy. I started texting Lisa that night. Caleb came home and I told him about it and he was super excited and called David. We got the contact information for the owner and he wanted to meet us the next day. Caleb and I showed up to the practice and met Al. What a nice guy! He loved us right from the beginning. As we walked through the practice he told me that I reminded him of his wife and that Caleb and I were doing something amazing together. He sat us down and said "This is how it is supposed to be. I remember my wife and I in this exact same scenario. I can see us in you two." He told us he's been lost and didn't know what to do. He said that I should pray that Caleb and I die together and not leave the other one to keep living, that it's the worst. This man almost moved us to tears just talking about it. It was so sweet and sincere. That same day, after the tour, he gave us our own set of keys and said to come back anytime and bring people in and check it out. I couldn't believe how much he trusted us from the beginning. I reached back out to Lisa and she said her dad loves us and really wants it to work. Fast forward from March, now it's December, and the practice sale is going to be final on the 30th. Al wasn't in a big hurry to sell and wanted to finish the year out. We also were not in a huge hurry because Caleb loves his boss and his job. We had almost bought a practice before and looked into many others. So we were not going to tell anybody until we knew for sure it was happening. Caleb told his boss a couple of months in advance just so they had plenty of time. Al told his staff and we met them in early December. For the last two months it has been meeting with lawyers, accountants, payroll, banks, insurance, remodel companies, IT support, web designers, furniture salesman, supply companies, you name it! Every day there are at least 2-3 things we have to do. Caleb is taking most of it on himself and has been very committed and excited. Let the fun begin!