Sign posted

I did it. I put up a sign stating the facts, that this store will close in just weeks. The sign encourages people to come in for sale items, that everything must go and that this isn't just a seasonal ending, it's a forever ending. And then I closed and locked the door a few minutes early because I couldn't talk with the lump in my throat.

When I say this is a hard loss, well, I realize I'm taking it harder than many people might. There have been goodbyes in my life before and yet for almost two decades this has been present, always there. It was one of the few things I loved and cared deeply about, and more importantly the place where I found my passion and soul as I healed from personal scars. And it is now the place I'm leaving behind as my heart sort of breaks. "I will miss you", I wisper to the antique counters as I brush by on my way out the door. In my life, probably more than for most, this thing that was my own meant so much.

#thefinal90 #storeclosing #since1979 #lossoflocalshops #momandpop #smallstores #familyowned #after35years

Who needs local businesses anymore?

Local businesses are not only a part of the local area, they are made up of real people. They are the folks that you see in your neighborhood, who teach your children at school, attend the same church as you, and share a concern in the well-being of the community. So if you have a chance to maintain that connection and retain those individual businesses, wouldn't you want to?

I'm working on several blog posts discussing my situation in more detail but have not been able to complete them due to time constraints. Will be posting more soon so don't go away.....there's plenty of things I still have to say and share with you.

For today, I leave you with something I'd written a while back.



Money isn't everything but it sure rules the world -
Big corporations and fat cats at the top.
$100 gets you a whole box of pills from India -
Who needs the corner pharmacist anymore.

People don't need to know their neighbors now -
You don't bother to ask who they trust.
Get a tune up while you shop super Walmart -
Who needs the mechanic on the outside of town.

My grandfather built this, he said with a sigh -
Here's a picture of dad working here, 1955.
Surrounded by glitzy dollar stores they don't see -
Who needs the small grocery, just down the street.

Money isn't everything, yet it sure rules the world -
But loyalty is lost; communities fading out.
Your town has an echo, so hollow it seems -
Maybe something else should have mattered.

#favoriteshop #finallyclosing #endofanera #independent #retailer #smallbusiness #supportlocal #lastseason #endofanera #smallretailer #momandpop #weareclosing #thefinal90 #belovedlocalstore #after35years #storeclosed