It’s been one year!
of the world coming to a halt
quarantine
shutting down my business for weeks
Jen with SA Live coming out to the shop, to talk all-purpose cleaners, hand cleansers, bar soaps (protecting ourselves through covid)
rescheduling, then cancelling our style show
switching to HEB curbside, to avoid the crowds
toilet paper hoarding
missing Ben, while he’s at his dad’s for April and May
an insane amount of orders, making April my best month ever in business
our Boerne businesses getting to open our doors again
wearing the face masks any time we’re indoors with others or close to others
Evan not completing 5th grade (because at-home learning does not work for us!), and having to do summer school
fearing the unknown
the stress of knowing that I don’t have health insurance
not going in anywhere but my shop
huge divides over racial issues, mask-wearing, and quarantine behavior
riots
police defunding
drop in business, financial worries, sleepless nights, deciding to downsize our home (to stay afloat)
missing friends and family terribly
a few makers moving into our store during all of this!
getting financial help through my GoFundMe page
getting to develop and add new products to my line
sad days, can’t-get-out-of-bed days, stress-eating days
seriously the longest spring break ever
our first outing, to Drive Tanks, for Evan’s birthday
putting our Handmade on Main sign on the building
the move to our new home
getting back to markets
Evan starting middle school; Ben starting his senior year
barely seeing my parents
missing touch, hugs, face-to-face meetings
hating zoom
deciding to hold my first-ever hands-on workshops (making bath bombs and custom colognes)
republican/democrat divide, hate-spewing, and bad behavior
a day trip to see the beach just once this year
trying to return to some kind of “normal”
long-overdue haircut, and donating 13″ of hair
two virtual Boerne Handmade Markets, instead of in-person
more makers moving into the shop
the election
Ben’s first girlfriend
weird and different, but successful, Diva Night and Stocking Stroll
a fun Christmas trip
a blow-up between Ben and his dad, ending with him losing his phone and his car, rocking our daily lives
five more makers moving into the shop!
the fun, beautiful, glorious, scary, destructive snow event
going back into HEB for the first time in forever
the shop winning a recognition for the wonderful things we’ve been doing over the past year!
Ben’s 18th birthday!
a slower-than-normal, rescheduled, Chocolate Walk
a pretty uneventful spring break, filled with jokes about last year’s spring break
our first-ever booth at Boerne Market Days
getting to announce that the Boerne Retailers’ Style Show & Shopping Event will be happening this year
marking eight months that the boys really haven’t seen their dad
hopes and dreams of success, normalcy, love, peace, joy, fun, for this world to change, for my life to change
{A year of having the boys with me about 360 days of that year was financially crushing, exhausting, trying, on top of all the good it was too. I can’t begin to tell you how difficult this pandemic was as a single mom with no help, kept from my friends and family, with no one to turn to.
But I can’t help but be thankful for the fact that we stayed healthy through this whole thing, that Evan’s 6th grade has been somewhat normal and great, that friends have checked in on us and showed they cared, that I could feel the support of my maker community, that I’m still able to do my important work…. that I survived. And I’m stronger than ever.}
