Our bookstore opens in two days—Thursday, May 2nd, 2024. That is one of the most surreal sentences I’ve ever written, made even more so by the fact that it was exactly twelve weeks ago that I sent this text to Maile:
There is no way that when I sent that, I actually thought this would happen.
You see, Maile and I have, throughout our marriage, been chronic dreamers. We’ve talked about buying this business or moving to this place or trying this vocation. There has always been something (possibly) new and exciting on the horizon. And, to be fair, these things did occasionally happen—we moved to Florida when we first got married; we lived in England for four years and ran a business there in our 20s, when we were but wee children; we chose, together, to have me chase my dream of being a full-time writer, which was completely irrational and has worked out in all kinds of wonderful ways.
But this bookstore? I don’t know. I just honestly didn’t think it would happen.
And now it’s happening.
Last night some friends from our group at church came in and attacked our to-do list with us: organizing and hanging lights and sweeping out the old rooms and putting up pictures. Things that would have definitely taken Maile and me an entire day to do were completed in a few hours, and we celebrated with Penny’s Ice Cream.
It’s one thing Mai and I are learning: while it’s often (but not always) possible to do these things alone, there’s something beautiful that happens when your community circles around you and holds you up.
We’ve spent the last three or four weeks making endless book lists of titles we want to carry. We’ve been in the store nearly every day cleaning and opening accounts and learning the point-of-sale. We set up bookshelves and received our first books last week.
And now we’re counting down. Two days until we open. A million little things to do.
But one thing we’re already seeing in the store—it’s becoming a place where people can simply be. We’ve had long, deep conversations with the mailman, the wonderful young woman we’ve bought the store from, our friend who came to give us an estimate on some work. This is what we want this space to be—yes, we want to talk about and sell books. But even more than that, if possible, we want this place to be a respite, a place to breathe, the kind of physical space that allows people to be present to the moment they are in.
So, here’s to 48 hours until our store opens! And living in the moment! Surrender! Trust!
And unpacking seven boxes of books today and scanning them into our system!
Don’t forget to register for our very first book event, with Lisa-Jo Baker! She’s written an incredible memoir called It Wasn’t Roaring, It Was Weeping. Find out more about her, the book, and register for the event HERE. Over half of the tickets have been sold, so don’t wait too long!
And now a few photos from the last week or so!
"...we want to talk about and sell books. But even more than that, if possible, we want this place to be a respite, a place to breathe, the kind of physical space that allows people to be present to the moment they are in."
How many ways can I love this? I'm in awe of how frequently you do chase your dreams and how inspiring that can be to the rest of us. And this? I love this bookstore and this place. It is of no surprise to me that your bookstore is becoming that. It's just who Shawn and Maile are.
Life changes so fast! Counting down with you all.