Not yet...

7:47pm on Saturday and I'm dragging my feet. I wish there was some way not to say "every thing must go". I wish there was a way to skip over this part. I wish there was a way to just slip out thd back door aand never have to answer another question about why. But I need to put the sign up, not just for customers but for me, so it can start to sink in that I'm down to the final days.

35 years here; 19 of them mine. And 45 days is all that remains of decades of small business work, heartache, love, caring and now, learning to let go.

#smallbusinessclosing #goodbyetoanicon #after35years #thefinal90 #supportlocal #buyAmerican #oldtimeshop #different #unique

Pieces of me

Today is hell and I would give anything to make this end. I am literally peeling off pieces of me and placing bit and parts of my life, heart and soul into plastic bags people are leaving with. I loved this stupid store so much, I loved being a part of people's lives, I loved knowing I gave them a chance to buy the best while supporting the best - America's candy makers who are still here in the USA making products. This was a tiny amount of business to them but at least I stayed a firm supporter of what they offered and stood for - with this store closing that is one less supporter and already so many of us are gone.

When will people realize what we represented? I don't think they realize the love and care that went into this shop, the generations that came here and the dedication I had. The few visitors earlier today who caually bemoaned the fate of small businesses as they noted the other stores closing in this shopping center, ended up shrugging and writing it off to "progress". What progress, when like robots they all follow each other to the big chains while the real owners are fighting to hold on? When will anyone realize that we ARE the heart and soul of little towns, the unique flavor of an area and a real person? This is ripping my heart out and I can do nothing.

#thefinal90 #storeclosing #goodbye #smallbusiness #35years #heart

Letting go

"As we grow older and wiser, we begin to realize what we need and what we need to leave behind.  Sometimes walking away is a step forward."

#lettinggo #movingon #thefinal90 #closingdoors #nextchapter #smallbusiness #finallyclosing #afteralltheseyears #supportyourlocal #independentsfading

I believe....

 

I believe....


....that grief isn't defined by words and equations, or measured by certain traits.

....that what spoke to your soul and made you come alive is something that can now be a huge loss in your life.

...that the longer you wait to make a change that you know is coming, the harder it will be.

....that hatever once made you whole; filled an emptiness; was there as you came out of the dark and healed, is going to hurt like hell when you say goodbye.

...that letting go may be the only way you can reach the next chapter in your life.

....that when the time comes when you have to walk away from memories of when you were broken and found the one thing that worked, that restored your faith in yourself and that let you live again, that it's going to rip your heart out.

....that being afraid of change keeps you from growing.

...that it's possible to feel some things should never end and that what made you complete should never go away.

....that this may be the time for me to fly.

...that you can love something that restored you to living as a normal person so much that it's going to leave fragments.

....that this sadness is about losing the only thing in my life I ever became.

....that letting go of this dream is harder than I thought.

....that these years were some of the best times in my life.

#lettinggo #closingabusiness #movingon #afteralltheseyears #nextchapter #deathofasmallbusiness #goodbye #momandpop #smallstores #closing #since1979 #afterallthistime #closingforever #thefinal90 #belovedsmallshop #icon #community #shoplocal #loss #hometownbusinesses