Weekend of Truth

It's frightening to be a retailer in these days.  Although retail sales are up nationwide, our sales are down.  That means that we either don't have the product that people want, or that we, as a store, are not the store that people think of when they are thinking about buying products that we carry.  Either way, we've had a year that has been anything but good, prompting us to hold a two-day sale for the first time in our history.  So I awoke this morning apprehensive.  These next two days could go either way.  Either we could have too many people to be able to care for their needs well, or we will have too few people to make the sale worth while for us.  I would like the in-between - people in a regular rhythm that would allow us to help those who needed help, keep the displays stocked for the next person, and get good numbers for each day to justify the discounts that we are offering.  I'm terrified. 

Thanksgiving Day was wonderful.  We had a relatively quiet meal with lots of food, and after we were finished with the actual food, two other family members, their spouses and children showed up for dessert.  Most of my nieces and nephews are married, so their Thanksgiving was spent rotating from house to house, having several meals.  Fortunately we did not have to do that (it would be WAY too much food) but we did go overboard on the desserts.  We had pie there, and came home to our own Pumpkin pie and French Apple Cream Cheese pie for dessert.  It was really good - far too many calories, but only an indulgence for a relatively short period of time.  It was wonderful to see everyone again, and family is what Thanksgiving is all about.