Balancing Marriage and Business: How Kari and I Make It Work

Introduction: A Veteran’s Partnership in Life and Business

I’m Jeff, a disabled veteran, former high school teacher and coach, full-time dad, and co-owner of a small Etsy shop with the love of my life, Kari. We live in Arizona, trying our best to juggle the beautiful chaos of parenting, mental health challenges, and our print-on-demand business, JK Prints & Gifts.

I didn’t walk away from education easily. I spent more than a decade teaching high school social studies and working as an instructional coach. But eventually, the toxic leadership and relentless pressure triggered my PTSD so severely that I had to leave for the sake of my health and my family. That moment broke me down, but it also revealed something powerful. Kari stood by me without hesitation. She didn’t question it. She didn’t complain. She just loved me with patience and grace.

Kari is a full-time teacher, still fighting through the same broken system I had to walk away from. And after her long, exhausting days, she comes home and pours her energy into our family and our dream. She doesn’t have to, but she does because she believes in us.

Balancing everything is far from easy. But we have learned to move through life together with love, faith, and a deep commitment to each other and our family. We are building something real, and even though it’s messy and slow, we believe it matters.

The Challenge: Juggling Marriage, Business, and the Toll of Education

Running a business with your spouse is not a Pinterest-perfect love story. It’s often raw, tiring, and unglamorous. It means working through misunderstandings, exhaustion, and real-life pressure, all while trying to keep a marriage strong and raise a family.

Kari’s teaching job takes a toll on her. The pressure, the emotional labor, the lack of support, none of it makes things easy. I see how much she gives every single day, and I worry about how long she can carry that weight. But she keeps going, not because it’s easy, but because she’s committed to her students and to us.

For me, managing PTSD is a daily battle. It’s not always visible, but it’s real. There are days when I struggle just to get out of bed, let alone be creative or productive. And yet, we’ve still built something from scratch together. Our Etsy store isn’t just a business. It’s our shared hope. It’s how we push back against the noise and build something that is fully ours.

We are not some perfectly polished couple. But we are a team. And that teamwork, honed through military service, parenting, and marriage, is what keeps us going.

We're Not Perfect, But We Keep Showing Up

Let me be clear. Kari and I are not perfect, far from it. We argue. We get tired. We mess up. We miscommunicate. There are times when we are completely out of sync and have to fight to find our way back to each other.

But here’s the truth: we’ve been married for over 16 years, and we are still learning how to love each other better. We still choose each other, every single day.

Running a business as a couple has tested us in ways we didn’t expect. There’s no manual for managing Etsy returns while your kid has a fever or for promoting a new product when your PTSD is flaring up, and Kari just spent 10 hours grading papers. But we figure it out because we are in this together.

We are not a wildly successful business. Not yet. But we believe what we’re building is a blueprint for something sustainable and meaningful. We believe that the love and effort we put into each design, each order, and each moment together will carry us toward that success, one step at a time.

Veteran-Inspired Tips for Balancing Marriage and Business

My time in the military taught me about structure, communication, and sticking together under pressure. These same values now shape how Kari and I navigate entrepreneurship and marriage.

1. Divide Tasks Like a Military Operation

In the Army, everyone has a role. No mission succeeds without clarity. That’s how we treat our home and business. I focus on designing our products, especially our K–2 worksheets and t-shirts. Kari handles a lot of the daily household needs, like meals, appointments, and making sure the kids have what they need for school.

We set weekly goals for our shop and check in about what’s working and what’s not. There’s no room for guesswork or resentment, so we keep things transparent and fair.

Kari is already stretched thin by her job. If schools reduced the amount of non-teaching responsibilities teachers are expected to carry, it would ease the pressure and give her space to rest, create, and connect more deeply at home.

2. Schedule Time for Connection

The military taught me that when you get a break, you use it wisely. That means Kari and I are intentional about our time together. Whether it’s a simple cup of coffee in the morning, watching a show before bed, or a walk around the block while the kids play, we protect those small moments.

They’re not big romantic gestures, but they keep us connected. They remind us we’re not just business partners or parents. We’re still the same two people who chose each other all those years ago.

We even use Canva Pro to plan fun family activities when life gets too structured and stressful. It keeps things light and helps us make space for joy.

3. Communicate Openly About Mental Health

PTSD is not something I can lock away. It shows up in real, sometimes disruptive ways. Kari and I learned early on that if we don’t talk about it, it builds up and creates distance.

So we talk. Every day. We check in with each other about how we’re feeling. We say what’s hard, what’s overwhelming, and what we need from each other. We even use journaling to sort through thoughts when talking feels too hard.

We’ve learned to name the hard stuff instead of hiding it. That level of honesty isn’t always comfortable, but it keeps our foundation solid. If more schools provided mental health support for teachers, maybe Kari wouldn’t have to carry so much emotional strain into our home life.

4. Celebrate Small Wins Together

In the military, even the smallest victories mattered. That mindset has stuck with me. Every Etsy sale, every kind review, every design that resonates—we celebrate all of it.

We cheer together. We text each other when something good happens. We share the wins with our kids so they can see what perseverance looks like.

Success isn’t just about numbers. It’s about moments. It’s about building something from nothing and not giving up, even when it’s slow. That’s what we celebrate, and those celebrations keep us motivated when we’re tired.

Why It Matters: A Veteran Dad’s Commitment to Love, Legacy, and Healing

For me, this isn’t just about running a business. It’s about healing. It’s about rebuilding a life that makes sense after everything I’ve been through. It’s about showing our kids what love, effort, and resilience look like in real-time.

Kari is my rock. She is the reason I’m still here, still fighting, still creating. She believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. And because of that, I’ve been able to show up as a dad, as a partner, and as a creator.

JK Prints & Gifts is not a six-figure business, not yet. But it is a seed. It is proof that we can still grow something good, even in hard soil. It’s our way of building a future that feels like ours.

We are not perfect, and our journey is not easy. But we’re here. Together. And that matters more than anything.

Join the Conversation

Are you a veteran, teacher, or couple trying to build something together? We’d love to hear from you. Share your story, your struggles, and your wins in the comments.

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And if you want to support what we’re building, check out our Etsy shop: JK Prints & Gifts. Every order helps us keep going.

Let’s build something that lasts, together.