Pages In Time

Eight years ago I had my first child. Emily was born in September 2001. I will never forget the night I decided to start scrapbooking. I was laying there in bed and decided that I would set up a small table in our bedroom and begin scrapbooking our new baby. I hardly slept at all that night. I talked to a friend of mine who told me about this great store right in Osceola that sold scrapbook supplies. I went there that first week and thought I was in heaven. It was about as big as a BP. It was called the Crop Shop and they had scrapbook paper and tanning beds. Strange but...I could not believe all the paper they had. At least 40 choices. And they had these little people die cuts that were soooo cute. And that was about it.

Shortly after that a new store opened in Town & Country and now I was surely in heaven. It was like...3 times the size of my little gas station scrapbook store.

Then in late 2002 I walked into the newest scrapbook store in town, Pages In Time and this time the angels were singing. Everywhere...for as far as the eye could see...paper. Glorious paper. And walls and walls and walls lined with stickers.

My second baby was due to join our family in September of 2003. I had become a loyal shopper at PIT and met and really gotten to like Anne (who would later become one of my very best friends) I had talked to her a lot as a customer and seen her at MOPS with our little babies. Then...she got me my job. I was now on staff at Pages In Time. I could not believe my good fortune.

That brings me to another PIT story...real quick...I also met my other very best friend at PIT. Carrie. She was there cropping and I was sitting behind her and I was crying about something and I turned to her and I said "Can I talk to you for just a minute, I'm really sad." And she did and now she's like my sister.

So anyway... now more than 6 years later it is all coming to an end. My bosses, the Turners, have decided to go ahead and close the store. Out of respect for them I won't go into details about the specifics but I will say that I have good and honorable employers and it has been a privilege to work for them all these years.

It has been a dream job. If I needed more hours, I got them. If I needed to cut back, I cut back. If I worked tomorrow night and wanted the night off, I make a few phone calls and there was always someone willing to pick up your shift. Mark would get off work late sometimes so I bring my kids to work with me. I have been surrounded by my favorite "stuff", some of my favorite people, and did I mention I got PAID to be there!!

I have had some of the greatest conversations with these women I have worked with. I have laughed with them. And goodness knows I've cried with them. I will so desperately miss this place and these people. I will so miss bickering and sparing with Becky. I will miss my Tuesday night girls Sherry, Cathy, and Tammy. I will miss people walking up to me with a sliver of paper with a smidge of yellow print on it and desperately saying "have you ever seen this paper?" and me leading them right to it.

I know that store like my reflection in the mirror. I am so going to miss my job.