Wednesday, August 19, 2009

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.....