Welcome to 2021

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Let's hope 2021 is not going to be 2020 part 2.  This past year has been rough for all of us so let's do what we can to help each other in the coming up year. For some of us life will never be the same and for others that might be a good thing. 

This past year started out really well for the Boutique. As most of you know it had been closed for most of the last couple years. We had considered opening a gothic style Inn so I spent a couple of years managing a hotel to learn how and see if it was something I'd like. I did and I was really good at it. Now we just needed a place to open and get started. 

We moved to California to help out my oldest son. We figured we would open the Inn there but then the plague hit. So I reopened the Boutique to help keep the bills paid, and save up to get started when hotels and restaurants were reopened. Everything was on track, orders were flowing well, and it looked like the year wasn't gonna be a bust after all. We geared up for the holiday season stocking up on product and even planned a few sales and a huge giveaway. 

Since it looked like it could be another year at least before the market could support opening a new Inn we decided to purchase an RV and hit the road with the Boutique. We could visit everywhere we ever wanted and sell our wares along the way. We started looking at RVs and planning the stops we wanted to make, the haunted houses we wanted to visit, and the events we wanted to be vendors for. 

My whole family lives in Texas except for myself, my LoverFace, and our kids.  Daddy lived with my sister and her family after he retired 6 years previously. I tried to get him to come to Virginia and live with us when he retired but he had always wanted to live in Texas. At least for as long as I can remember so it was no surprise when he refused and went to Texas. We lost touch for many years. Partly because he just never made an effort to stay in touch and partly because I was hyper focused on getting my life together. When I last saw my Dad I was leaving the state with my ex-husband who was violently abusive just like every other man I had ever been in a relationship with. I visited my Daddy once after meeting LoverFace but before losing touch, and Dad really liked him. 

When we moved to California June 2019 we stopped off in Texas and visited my sister and father. We spent 2 days visiting everyone before heading on, and planned to return for a longer visit the following spring/summer. The summer passed and we weren't able to travel due to the COVID-19 plague. We figured that was fine. We could save up some more money, and get the RV before so we could drive that when we went to visit! We could pack it up with product and not even have to close the shop to travel. 

We found out Dad needed surgery in the fall. Nothing huge, fairly routine, but my sister would need help with him, and her kids, during recovery as she is disabled. He scheduled it for 3 days before the holiday rush would start for the Boutique, and his recovery time was, I believe, about a week in hospital and several after. I hoped to finish the stockpile so I could go to Texas a couple days before the surgery and visit without disrupting shipping times for orders. I had planned to leave by Saturday but fell behind making stock while getting orders out. I'd normally have a couple helpers but the pandemic left me on my own. So I kept pushing back the date to leave. Partially because I was hoping to find an RV before we left and not need to pay for a rental car and be able to keep my shop open. It didn't happen. By the time I had gotten enough done and the last RV fell through the soonest I could've left would have been the day after his surgery but I'd be there the day after so he'd still be in the hospital and not too late to help get him home. 

The morning of the surgery my sister called to say he'd had a heart attack during surgery and didn't make it. We had to wait 2 1/2 weeks to bury him. I closed the shop and went to Texas to help out with as much of the funeral as I could. I don't really remember a lot of it. Those weeks were kind of a blur with little spots of clear memory.

I remember my sister saying she wanted me to stay and help with the house and kids, and I remember mentioning it to LoverFace. Then we were packing and moving. LoverFace has his last semester of school starting next month, and graduates in June. I have no idea if I'm staying in Texas or returning to California right now. Kind of just taking it day by day. Trying to feel back to normal. Trying to get used to life without ever seeing Dad again. It would be easier to figure out if Daddy wasn't haunting the house. 

Tell me about your 2020? What did you gain? What did you lose? What are you hopeful for in 2021?