These times are tough for many families all over the country and we’re one of them. We’ve been trying to keep our head above water by trying any and everything possible within our means to keep the ship afloat, but when you live in a small rural county good jobs are hard to come by. They are out there but the people who get those types of jobs are those who know the right people to get their foot in the door.

 

I’ve been writing about our experience of owning a retail store since we opened 3 months ago. We had high hopes, regardless of how many times people stopped in and gave their two cents by letting us know that the Fall/Winter months were not the right time to open. We knew that going in, but when you have to make ends meet and figure something out, sometime the best time is now.

 

We really believed that we would somehow make it through the winter and knew that once summer came along we could finally take a breath. It didn’t turn out that way, the past few weeks have been extremely slow, and not just for us but for the other businesses around us as well. People either weren’t interested in buying local or they just weren’t buying period. It’s hard to say which one it is, but because of the lack of sales this past month we are forced to shut our doors after only 3 short months.

 

I do take comfort in knowing that it wasn’t because of something we did or didn’t do, we really gave it our all. We can’t force people to stop in and purchase something.

 

The question now is… What now?

 

We’ve done some heavy talking and have decided that maybe this just isn’t the place for us. We’ve been down this road before, in fact it wasn’t that long ago when we were contemplating heading down south for a new start. We opened the store instead…and I’m glad we chose that route even knowing what I know now I would have made the same choice. At least we can rest easy knowing we tried.

 

 

Instead of a big move like that, we were kind of thinking that moving closer to the city might me in our future. The jobs are plentiful, cost of living is high and I wouldn’t really want to live directly in the city but someplace close enough to commute might be the way to go.

 

I really believe that by staying here we’re setting ourselves up for a mediocre job with a mediocre salary. It would settling for something when we know we can do so much more. The key to life is to be happy, and maybe being blissfully happy at a job isn’t a reality but finding something we like doing and feeling good about it is at least on the right path.

 

Lucky for us we live about 2 hours north of the city and that is a much easier move than an 8 hour drive to NC, which was our original plan. I was interested in the warmer temps, but hey… we can’t have it all. I would be happy living outside the city and commuting in to work, especially if I find something I like doing… and I know the pay wouldn’t be that bad either.

 

I’ve said it many times before and I’ll say it again, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way”. I really believe that if you want it badly enough, you’ll work hard enough to make it happen, and it may not be exactly the way we want it to go but putting forth a good effort is a great place to start and gain momentum.

 

This can’t be all there is to life. If we were meant to work at a dead-end job and just get by then what would be the point?

 

I have grand ideas of wanting to be in a position where I can help those in need, either by working for a charity or at least being in a better position to offer something to those who are worse off than me.

 

This won’t keep me down, I may have to stand up and dust myself off but I will get back up and when I do, it’ll be worth it!

 

There couldn’t be a more perfect time to make a change than with the New Year approaching. I’ve always felt we get a fresh start when the ball drops!

 

I want to leave an imprint on each one of my children, I want them to believe that as long as they keep going they’ll get where they want to go in this life. Happiness is the key, without it you can’t open any doors, especially the right door.