11/06/2024
I’m on a plane to Florida and it seems like the right time to announce that I will be closing the shop at the end of the coming summer. I made this decision a few weeks back after much deliberation and having felt deeply disconnected from the shop for the last year +. It’s a weird thing to make the announcement when realistically nothing will change until August or September because deposits have already been paid on summer collections but the truth is that my priorities have shifted in a big way in the last 7 years and the shop no longer aligns with those priorities.
I am headed to FL very last minute for the month of November because my father’s dog (his best friend) died while he and my mother were driving to florida. Gene the dog had been sick for a while which is why they drove rather than flying. Lots of you know, but maybe some of you don’t, I have bipolar II (along with a couple other things :) and so does my father. He also has early stages of dementia and Gene dying has put him in a place where he can not be alone. My mother and grandmother have a trip planned that leaves in 2 days and were going to have to make other arrangements/cancel their trip together. Fortunately, I have the flexibility to drop everything and head down to be with my father so my mom and grandmother can go on their trip!
My parents are going to be selling my childhood home in New Hampshire in the spring and moving to Maine to be with me, my fiancé and my soon to be step son Ronan ♥️ - I want to be able to help them with the sale of their beloved home and the purchase of a new home here in Maine. I want to be present while my dad enters this next stage of life and get to spend as much time as possible with him watching Bonanza and The Lone Ranger, eating ice cream, seeing him with Ronan, brining him for lobster rolls and not telling him the price because he would refuse to eat one if he knew, helping him plant a garden and so so so so much more…. I guess I can’t write anymore here in the caption, so the remainder of my rambling thoughts can be found in comments. Cheers to you if you’re read this far! ❤️❤️
