s h o p    t h e r a p y

I think I have been hanging in there pretty good this summer balancing my kids at home with moving shops and the million things that entailed. Not to mention the restocking that I had to get used to in this new shop. Things are moving different here than I am used to. My sales in the past few years had been primarily furniture and smalls were always a bonus sale. At this shop I am selling both. The furniture at a steady pace. I can keep up with it. Really it is selling at the perfect pace for me. But my smalls sales have exploded. I am getting used to the amount coming in and out. It has been a learning experience. 

I have been pretty good about balancing work while at home with my kids M-W. But by today I kind of hit a wall. It is the end of the summer and I haven't gone school supply shopping yet. My house is in the end of summer disaster stage. I finally took off my white slip covers and they will not go back on until school starts. My kids did not want to go to the grocery store with me yesterday. I warned them we didn't have much left of food but they didn't care. I ordered pizza for lunch and I scrounged and made pancakes and eggs for dinner. So by this morning I told them we had to go to the grocery store. I piled them into my car that was filled with furniture ready to come to the store. They squished in and we got the shopping done without too many hiccups. Taking my kids to the grocery store is in the top 3 things I dread doing. I got home with the kids and my mom was there to watch them for me for the day. I quickly zoomed out of there, unloaded the furniture at my shop, ran to do a furniture pick up and back to the store to open. I knew I had to do a quick remerch as well.

 So in my car before I pulled up to the shop I had a pity party for myself and how I feel a bit stretched. Well, a lot stretched.

 Then I snapped out of it, looked at the blessing of the store, how I was able to manage the summer juggle.

 It is hard to juggle it all. Especially for a type A perfectionist. 

I am on a constant roller coaster of winning and failing right now. 

So I am just going with the flow and doing the best I can.

It is so quiet here right now. It has been my therapy today. 

But I am still counting down the days until school starts. Is that bad? 

Actually, I think the kids are ready to go back to school as well.

e n d    o f    s u m m e r

 

It feels like the end of summer. To me it feels like this summer lasted six months. I am still so much invested emotionally and physically from a big store move that I haven't really had time to sit back and look at the transformation. To really digest it. So much change in such a short time, not planned, and all with my kids home with me!I have had  a thousand moments of gratitude, and several moments of fear, some sadness, but a million thoughts of relief and joyfulness.

 

 My husband took my daughter to middle school orientation today.

I can't believe she will be in middle school. I still remember my first day of middle school.

It means in a blink I am going to be talking about her going to college.

 

On a lighter note I am happy to have cooler weather. My hair actually looks ok today and it isn't in a bun or pony tail because of the weather.

 

I am happy to be wearing closed toe shoes today because I am tired of painting my toe nails.

 

I am already planning how to decorate the front planters of the store with pumpkins.

 

I am excited to clean my house, get new slipcovers and decorate for myself.

 

I am ready for the first day of school drop offs and the feeling of sadness that the kids are getting older and a bit of gleefulness {is this terrible?} that I can now paint in solitude.

 

I am ready to walk around with a hot cup of coffee in my Starbucks mug.

 

I am ready to pack school lunches and do more meal planning.

 

I am excited to have my brown grass covered in leaves instead of dandelions.

 

I am ready for a grand opening party.

 

I am ready to say goodbye to summer. 

{Source -Pinterest}

This is what I am going to work on this week. To be more in the moment. I have to say I have been really trying hard to do this the past month or two.



It is really hard to do this, I actually find it work. But I am trying.

 

I have some really good days when I am only focusing on what I need do that day, enjoy it and not the fear creep in.

 

And not letting people's expectations of me and my time consume me.

{when you are a mom and business owner this really is work}

 

The days leading up to opening the new shop I knew I needed to work really hard to be in the moment and enjoy it.

 

It helps that I have such a great support system around me that allow me to live more in the moment. People that uplift, encourage and inspire me.

 

Being in the moment means shutting out negativity, fear, worry, doubt, insecurity and not surrounding yourself with people that bring those things out in you.

 

This also takes work.

 

So this week I will humbly be in the moment. Or at least I will try to be.

I will let you know next week how I did.

-Alison