Now I'm Sad....

We had a power outage in my neighborhood (some new phone company disrupting all of us who work from home), so I got in the car and drove to my favorite coffee shop called It's A Grind, in Ballantyne Village. I love It's a Grind because it's NOT Starbucks and because I know the owner and the gals who work here know me by name. In the car I was listening to NPR and the amount of bad financial news was just shocking. Lehman Bros. had just failed and AIG had just been bailed out by the Feds. I was depressed and a little scared, but I wasn't sad. I got to Ballantyne Village, parked and walked to my coffee shop, only to find out it was shuttered with a note on the door, "Our Apologies!!! We are Closed". This wasn't a temporary "taking inventory" closure. Most of the shelves are bare, even though the furniture is still in place. And then I became sad. In this 2.5 year old shopping center there have been three major closures in the last few months - an upscale restaurant called Table, a wine store and bar with live music, and now my coffee shop.

As my readers know, and I guess we're down to just Mom now, I try to bring light and happiness and as much optimism as I can in my blog because I think the world is going through some evil turns and I don't want to be a part of any kind of doom and gloom. But truthfully, I can't see much good in someone's dream going bust. I can't help but think about the owner and also the employees who were so upbeat and gracious to the patrons. Where are they and what will they do now?

And I need to think about myself too. I'm no longer doing sales and I need to find some employment pronto. I'm glad I've lived my dream as best I could but this is not the best of times to be looking for a job. I do have an unwavering belief that I will be all right. I always am. I always land on my feet. As I was told, I have a host of angels around me, protecting me. I always sensed it and will be forever grateful that a friend verbalized it for me. But I don't want any one else to be hurting. I want love, light and happiness for everyone!

I can share with you what brings me back to an optimistic state. I go out into nature, like my beautiful mini-forest back yard, or I look at something in my house that puts a smile on my face. I might just take five minutes to watch my cats stalking squirrels or sleeping soundly, and I say "thank you". I don't know what it is about being grateful, but it tends to calm me down.

To all my readers (Mom, Emily, Donald and Michael Owens), please spread the message of love and peace in your every day conduct. I will try and do the same.

Sara Abrams

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