The end of The Knitting Nest

Tomorrow is the last day of The Knitting Nest. I have seriously mixed feelings about this. I really liked being a small business owner. But, I was never really the owner. PWM did all the paperwork; I never got around to learning QuickBooks. I liked the customer interactions except when I didn't. On the days when my head hurt - which was a lot - it was hard to deal with customers. And on really bad days - which are unpredictable - I couldn't get out of bed. So, yeah, I'm going to miss being with customers and talking about yarn and patterns. But, I won't miss trying not to be sick when I really am sick.

Something else that's hard for me, though, is that I have a sense of failure. I feel like I should be able to keep the shop open. My conscious self understands that this is crazy talk. I have chronic migraine which is a chronic illness. I can't predict which days I'm going to feel well. Trying to run a small business even a few days a week is an exercise in futility. Instead of doing something that's just going to lead to closing the shop in a few months, we're doing the responsible thing and closing now, in the summer, while PWM can do a lot of the work (especially since I've had terrible migraine and depression for the last month). And I'm going to keep telling myself that this is a good thing and we didn't fail.

And, it's going well. We've sold probably 75% of our stock already and are hoping that tomorrow is busy as well. What's left tomorrow will be given to some carefully selected charities and the rest will be liquidated. We have plans for the building, including a guest bedroom, woodworking space for PWM, and a music room for the kids. I'm excited because we're bringing my grandfather's armoire into the living room for my yarn storage! (Yay! Redecoration!)

So, this is a bittersweet time. We are glad for the four years that we had The Knitting Nest and for all the friends that we've made. (I've had two people give me their phone numbers and ask me to call them for them to come knit with me on days when I feel OK. Isn't that sweet?) We'll miss the shop. But, we're excited for what comes next. PWM loves teaching and is glad to be able to spend all his time focused on his students. I'm going to start off by spending some time resting and then working on some projects at home. After that, we'll see . . . .