What Happened to Summer?

Now that August is almost over, I am wondering just what happened to my July! Of course there was the usual July 4th fun and frolic with children, grandchildren, out-laws and assorted pets. And then there was the "bomb" - a major health issue that came out of nowhere. And then in August we experienced a tragedy that still has us and many dear friends reeling from the shock. And a major decision about "the business" closes out the exciting "what did you do on your vacation" spiel.
After 15 years at this retail game, which I dearly love, I will be closing the shop and moving into a new phase of "the career" which means more excitement and hoopla. But first, I now get to experience the adventure of actually closing a business. A customer asked me why I was doing this and that started me really thinking. I have been through the start up, the moving of a store into renovated quarters while trying to remain open for business, the name change and focus realignment, a major hurricane and aftermath for 16 months, a move from one city to another with accompanying selling of buildings and finding new quarters, putting 6,000+ items into storage in a flood ravaged city and getting them delivered out to another city 2 months later, attempting to bring a business built on customer loyalty to a new venue, and lastly, just trying to get all other aspects of "after Katrina" put to rest. And that is how I get to where I am today! A long trip to be sure, but one I wouldn't change if I could.
So, now --- what happened to that summer? Well, for those of us here in South Louisiana summer isn't over until Thanksgiving at the very earliest. Football season isn't the signal for us that cool Fall weather is around the corner. If we are lucky, we may be cool for Christmas -- or maybe, just maybe, it will snow again like last year!! I dream of such things.....

July 1st and Vacation Begins Here

It's a wonderful feeling to know that from now until July 31 it is officially "vacation" and that I don't HAVE to go to the shop. Which of course means that I probably WILL go to the shop, just not to do any heavy lifting or floor mopping.

This will be the time to get everything ready for the big re-opening August 1st, when we will be getting ourselves ready for the next transformation. As some wise man once said, "if you aren't changing, you aren't growing." We will definitely be growing and changing that is for sure.

Now I have to take the time to work out the logistics and get the timeline finished. It will be a sad but sweet ending to an almost 15 year part in the retail world. I have certainly been entertained, delighted, perplexed, rewarded, and bamboozled by the experience. It will be sad to try to close something that just makes me happy - happy to work at, happy to look at, and happy to think about. But too much happy can be a bad thing - even I know that. When you start thinking of other things that you could be doing and start wondering how you can do both --- well, that means the handwriting is on the wall.

So, for the next few weeks I will be moving things around, consolidating, practicing web skills, doing a little canvas shuffling, and trying to figure it out. In the meantime I will try to do some creative blogging that can be my "to do" list, my game plan, my dreamscape, and my touchdown at reality. Until next time, take the advice of Coach Les Miles and "Have a Great Day!"