The Journey

I'm not often at a loss for words, especially the written word.  While I may wordsmith something over and over again until it sounds just as I want it to, I feel comfortable expressing myself in writing.  But last Monday night as I worked on the email to publicly announce Zoe's closing, I struggled.  I had been thinking about it for several days and nothing seemed right.  I am not dramatic by nature and wanted my words to be simple, heart-felt, and honest.

I thought back to a quote from Ernest Hemingway that a high school friend of mine had posted on Facebook a few weeks ago.  It had touched me at the time and spoke loudly to me now.  "It is good to have an end to journey toward: but it is the journey that matters, in the end."  Zoe has always been a journey for me.  An amazing, life-changing one at that.

What I didn't realize when I used that quote was that I had used the word "journey" in reference to Zoe in my very first blog post on this site.  I wasn't sure what the future held 4 years ago when I started out but I knew I would learn and experience a great deal along the way.

In the next month as Zoe's current journey nears its end, we'll take a (mostly) upbeat look at the road I've traveled and include some feedback from some people who've taken the journey with me.  

Please don't get me wrong - as much as I am at complete peace with God's Will in this decision, I'm human.  I'm grieving.  The tears I've shed (including a big cry when I wrote the email on Monday night) aren't the last.  On Sunday, a woman came into the store and asked me why we were closing.  When I explained to her my reasons why, she said "Oh, you couldn't get someone to take it over for you?"  I told her that I had not ever considered that option as Zoe was too personal to me.  She looked at me like I was crazy.  It's OK.  I don't expect everyone to understand.  And even more importantly, I don't need them to understand.  The people that I care about understand and that's all that matters to me.  

So continue on the road with us - I promise it will be a fun one!