Acouple weeks ago, Per wrote a column about his friend “Bumpy,” You know, that not-so-cute cyst he has growing on his wrist that has been scheduled to be surgically removed. Now, it takes a lot for Per to go through with this stuff because he is not a fan of going to the doctor, medical procedures, etc. Truly, none of us are.
However, Per is a true gentleman. While he has kept up with his appointments and a surgery date has been scheduled, it wouldn’t be our life without a curveball or two. And here they come.
Per, as I said, a gentleman, has postponed his surgery until August. Why would he do such a thing? As he always says, ladies first.
Instead of him heading into surgery soon, it will be me. And that will toss a few curveballs into our business life.
I will be having a full abdominal hysterectomy on July 1. That means this column is the last you’ll be reading pre-surgery. Why do we share so much of our personal life in our columns? Because it affects you as our readers and advertisers.
As you know, we’re a small family business. When someone is out for a day or two, it’s a scramble. My doctor would prefer I take 6-8 weeks off. That isn’t going to happen.
What will happen is the paper will still be published. We’ll still be working. I will be out of the office for a while and slowly working my way back.
What will also happen is you might stop by and the door is locked — not because we don’t want to serve our customers, but because Per might be out covering an event and I may be home resting or working from my couch.
Phone calls and emails may take a few more days to be responded to. Questions will be answered, just maybe not the same day.
Yep, it’s not what we had planned for the summer.
I have lots of “projects” at home that will be pushed off for a couple months.
But we also know that one of the hardest parts of owning a business is taking the time you need for yourself.
So as we tackle the next couple months, give Per some grace. He’s the first to admit that his job is the newspaper. He is an amazing editor who pours his heart and soul into his stories and photos. Now, with the help of my kids and mom, he has to take over other parts of the business that he’s not familiar with.
As he likes to say, he’ll be a weed in a flower garden.
I’m not concerned. I know that things will be just fine. And I’ll be popping in as I’m able to help out where I can. Things may look a little different, but I also know we have an amazing community of supporters. So when it takes a little longer for something to be rung up in the till, or for the correct product to be brought up from the back, I know our community will have the patience that’s needed.
This is just one curveball in life and it won’t be the last. However, just like the baseball team, we keep swinging, and this summer can still turn into a home run.
Heck, by the end of the summer, Per and I will both have hit our deductibles!
