When Laura Patrick stayed home with one kid, her husband’s job as culinary director of Abacus worked fine for their family.

But five years later, when they had two more in two years, his hours began to take a toll on her. Besides late nights, the job required Chris Patrick to work every Saturday, no matter what.

“I couldn’t do five nights a week by myself anymore,” Laura says. “It got to a point that it was very stressful for me, and the lifestyle wasn’t fitting anymore.”

The youngest, Isabel, was born in 2019, and that’s when they decided to combine their talents to start a business that would allow their family to be together at night and on the weekends.

Chris, 42, is a culinary genius; Laura, 33, is a digital marketing maven and “a total extrovert.”

They launched Bright Box Foods at the end of 2019. The service provides chef-prepared meals that are delivered to homes. They come refrigerated and can be heated up as needed. It’s not a meal kit, and it’s not Schwann’s. They found their own niche, providing made-from-scratch meals for busy families who are used to restaurant-quality dinners.

“I was always super entrepreneurial, even as a kid, and always wanted to run my own business,” Laura says.

Their timing was lucky, as the company was just getting off the ground when the pandemic hit, creating unprecedented demand for home-delivered meals.

The early pandemic also created unprecedented anxiety for Laura, like many people.

“Just the stress and anxiety of the pandemic and having the kids home … it was a bad place for me,” she says. “So I told myself in 2020 that as soon as it was safe to be out again that I was going to make it a priority to get out and start exercising again.”

She joined a gym as soon as she was fully vaccinated.

“Just to feel better and have more energy. I’m not trying to lose weight or anything like that,” she says. “My goals are to help manage stress.”

That led her to a strict regimen of self-care that involves taking time for herself every day, and she says it makes their home and their business more harmonious.

More than two years in, Bright Box Foods is still just the two of them. Chris shops for, preps and cooks all the meals for customers, and Laura is customer-facing. She handles the business side, including payment, scheduling and marketing. They both deliver, and they have Fridays and Saturdays off. Chris begins prepping on Sunday afternoons, and Monday-Thursday are slammed.

The Patricks’ three kids go to three different schools. “It’s not like I planned it that way,” she says.

The youngest is in pre-K at Casa de Paz Montessori. Finley, 5, goes to kindergarten at “PL Prep,” the Personalized Learning Preparatory School at Sam Houston in Oak Lawn. And 10-year-old Camilla attends Jesús Moroles Expressive Arts Vanguard, the West Dallas campus that was renamed last year for the internationally known artist who was Laura’s uncle.

Between running a business and chauffeuring kids, this is her self-care routine.

Making time for 30 minutes of exercise every day. She does high-intensity interval training or Pilates at Edge Fitness five days a week.

Eating foods that are “healthy,” by which she means at least eating something green and some protein every day. “I’m an anti-dieter,” she says. “If you’re trying to work on your mental health, do not go on a diet.” She also appreciates attractive plates and snacky things. “Love a good cheese board,” she says.

Indulging in a Nespresso machine adds a little happiness to her life. Laura says she starts every day with two shots of espresso, which she drinks in the car while taking kids to school. Sometimes she has a third around 1 p.m. Once, when Laura confessed her coffee addiction, her sister said, “Caffeine is self-care.”

A friend turned her on to Go Easy, the Bishop Arts boutique that curates products like legal cannabis for a health-conscious clientele. Laura usually eats a CBD chocolate from Go Easy to sleep better. “It’s delicious and actually works,” she says.

Laura’s extroverted personality means she has to prioritize time with friends. She talks on the phone to her sister daily. “If I don’t have connection with the people that I love, I will notice the difference in my day,” she says. “I will not show up well for my kids, and that’s my No. 1 priority over everything.”