A few days ago, when I ceased being "a lady in her 50s" and started being "a lady in her 60s", I decided to make a self-portrait to mark the occasion. This shot was made with my camera phone, aimed at a dirty mirror. So allowances must be made. However, all things considered, I figure it's about right.
Showing posts with label getting old. Show all posts
Showing posts with label getting old. Show all posts
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Friday, May 16, 2008
A Decision
I've been agonizing over a decision for more than a year. (Heck, for several years!)
That decision is: should I continue on with my store (brick and mortar) which has been my livelihood for twenty years ... or should I find some other way to make a living?
My store has been a labor of love. I've watched a generation of my customers grow from little babies to parents. I've loved the challenge of building my business from nothing and seeing it turn into a community fixture. I've loved my merchandise. (My store is a video rental store. I do love those movies!)
However, in recent years it's become harder and harder. Sales are not what they used to be. And I'm not what I used to be either. The fact is, for several years now, the store just hasn't produced enough income to live on. It's caused me to start going into debt. And, no longer a spring chicken, I don't have the stamina to put up a fight for the business like I did in the beginning.
So, I've gone round and round with this. How can I lose my little store that I've put so much of myself and my life into? But how can I go on like this? It was a decision I just couldn't make.
Then, last month I got sick. Not real sick, but sick enough to hang up my "Closed Due To Illness" sign. I hardly ever do that. The next day I still didn't feel good, so I left the sign up. The next day was Monday, when I'm closed anyway. On Tuesday, I figured, "Tuesday's are never very good for business anyway." And on Wednesday, I intended to open the store, but I just couldn't face it.
So the store has been closed for a month. People are asking me what's going on. I just don't even know what to tell them. Probably there are rumors going around town that I'm horribly ill. People look at me sort of funny when I run into them in the grocery store. They ask, "How are you?" in a super sympathetic way.
I think that the decision I couldn't make has more or less made itself.
That decision is: should I continue on with my store (brick and mortar) which has been my livelihood for twenty years ... or should I find some other way to make a living?
My store has been a labor of love. I've watched a generation of my customers grow from little babies to parents. I've loved the challenge of building my business from nothing and seeing it turn into a community fixture. I've loved my merchandise. (My store is a video rental store. I do love those movies!)
However, in recent years it's become harder and harder. Sales are not what they used to be. And I'm not what I used to be either. The fact is, for several years now, the store just hasn't produced enough income to live on. It's caused me to start going into debt. And, no longer a spring chicken, I don't have the stamina to put up a fight for the business like I did in the beginning.
So, I've gone round and round with this. How can I lose my little store that I've put so much of myself and my life into? But how can I go on like this? It was a decision I just couldn't make.
Then, last month I got sick. Not real sick, but sick enough to hang up my "Closed Due To Illness" sign. I hardly ever do that. The next day I still didn't feel good, so I left the sign up. The next day was Monday, when I'm closed anyway. On Tuesday, I figured, "Tuesday's are never very good for business anyway." And on Wednesday, I intended to open the store, but I just couldn't face it.
So the store has been closed for a month. People are asking me what's going on. I just don't even know what to tell them. Probably there are rumors going around town that I'm horribly ill. People look at me sort of funny when I run into them in the grocery store. They ask, "How are you?" in a super sympathetic way.
I think that the decision I couldn't make has more or less made itself.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Personal, not like "Go Away - This is personal", but like "Personal - not Business"
Got to thinking about it, and "Shirley's Personal Weblog" sounds somewhat forbidding and private -- or maybe secret and juicy. Well, no. I have another blog (www.onlinegrandma.com) that's supposed to be about business things. But I keep going off on personal stories on that one. So I made a special blog here for that kind of stuff -- just to get it out of my system.
So, come on in and make yourself t'home. The blog is personal, but not too personal. I'm not about to discuss any deep dark secrets on a public blog. (Although I know there are people who do ... ) Apologies to anybody who was hoping for something more interesting. Mainly, this is just me talking about not much in particular. Actually, I'm just getting warmed up. I'll get to some deeper topics later ... maybe even a little darker. But certainly not "secrets". (Well, in a small town, there are no secrets. So I don't have any secrets anyway.)
What I'm going to do now is see if I can figure out how to add a picture to this masterpiece.
So, come on in and make yourself t'home. The blog is personal, but not too personal. I'm not about to discuss any deep dark secrets on a public blog. (Although I know there are people who do ... ) Apologies to anybody who was hoping for something more interesting. Mainly, this is just me talking about not much in particular. Actually, I'm just getting warmed up. I'll get to some deeper topics later ... maybe even a little darker. But certainly not "secrets". (Well, in a small town, there are no secrets. So I don't have any secrets anyway.)
What I'm going to do now is see if I can figure out how to add a picture to this masterpiece.
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