One of the remarkable things about my mom is that when she was 40, and her youngest of 4 children was 11 years old (that was me), she opened up a dress shop in our small home town. She had no experience. An owner of an empty store approached my dad with the idea. Mom had no clue how to run a dress shop but she plunged in with Dad's blessing and her whole life changed. She even went to Chicago alone on her first buying trip. I think that was pretty courageous coming from a small town with a population of 800.
Back in 1968, she didn't have to compete with Walmart or Meijer. In fact, malls were just beginning to be built. She ran a successful business for 25 years, and our small town benefitted from it. I also benefitted from it. I always had my pick of the new arrivals. Her shop also paid college expenses for my brother and me.
Working at the shop taught me alot about fashion, color coordination, customer service, and retail in general. On slow days (and there were some very boring days) I read a lot of books. But, oh how that adrenaline kicked in on busy days. I think I was made for retail.
Every night at the supper table, Dad would ask Mom the same question. "How did you do?" And she would tell him how much the shop brought in that day. And usually a story followed about one of the customers that came in. She met a lot of people from neighboring towns who are still her friends today. Many years after she closed her doors for the final time, people would still tell her how much they missed her shop.
Thanks, Mom, for having the courage to step out of your comfort zone and start a new adventure. I love you! And have a happy birthday!
She is a pretty amazing lady!
ReplyDeleteNow that is such a cool story. I never really thought about how much courage it took and how out of the box that was. SO COOL! I love you Grandma!
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