Farewell, 139...

As we drove away, I snapped a picture.  The day was spent packing up our last possessions and cleaning our former location.  We swept, we mopped, we filled the nail-holes in the walls.  We scrubbed, scoured and  did our best to remove all traces that we had been there at all.

I know that these were just walls.  This was just another building in a row of many buildings, but for the past three years, this is where we called home.  This is where we invited people in and encouraged them to get in touch with their creativity – a part of themselves that some thought was nonexistent.  We worked hard and poured love into everything that we did.  Through this storefront on a street that could be in any small town, we made friends, laughed until our bellies ached and raised a toast to many passages of life.  From our window, we watched intrepid toddlers taking increasingly brave steps, processions for prom, weddings, and funerals, parades with streamers and pagent-winning pretties waving on floats.  We have seen life unfold in an American town.

I was sad to say goodbye.  I couldn't help but think of all the remarkable people who walked through the door.  Travelers from all over the world have stepped over the threshold.  The space was a meeting place of people.  And while there were many blessings in these rooms, there were rough patches, when it all seemed impossibly hard.  Words were said in anger.  Things went missing.  Feelings were hurt.  Friendships were lost.  But what sticks with me isn't the bad.  What truly resonates is all the good.  I loved seeing the look of triumph on a person's face when they did something that they thought they couldn't do before.  I loved hearing stories and learning about the people who frequented our business.  I loved being a part of the community.  And what I loved best was creating beauty and helping inspire others to create beauty as well.

I don't think any farewell would be complete without saying a few words about our shopmate.  Laurie of Second Chapter Books gave us this amazing opportunity to share the space and allowed us to fulfill a dream that we didn't think possible.  William and I both thought that someday, maybe, one day we would open a brick-and-mortar store, but it always seemed like an impossible dream.  Laurie helped make that a reality.  She opened her storefront up, invited us in, and has helped in so many ways.  I cannot count how many hours we've spent together, sharing stories, making things, and believing in this town and the community.  She has been patient, kind, and encouraging.  We wish nothing but the best for her and all her future endeavors!

As we drove away, I snapped a picture.  I captured a photo of a place we used to call home, a nest we built little by little.

And while it was sad to say farewell, there was also a bubbling feeling of excitement.  Ahead of us lay unknown mysteries and new adventures.  Even though the new store is only a few stores down – a block away – there seems to be a world of possibility opening up.  We pulled in front of 215 East Main Street and I smiled.  Good things are coming.

Home.