After 14 years at the Hallmark Store, I've finally hung up my apron. I started out of high school, to help pay for college and my first car. When I graduated it became my part-time job to help supplement the income from my full-time job and pay down student loans. When my company folded unexpectedly, it was there to offer full-time hours while searching for a new job. Once I was on steadier feet, it helped me get my credit in order so I could buy my house. Then, it was a security blanket - something stashed in my back pocket to protect me from the dark.
The women that I have known through the years have taught me so much about life and friendship. They helped me grow up and were a substitute family when my own was unwelcoming. My first realization of my own mortality happened with the death of my manager's daughter (I was 21, the girl was 18). With the passing of a co-worker in our main office, I've seen the new generation of Hallmark girls experience the same realization (Our co-worker was 32, the next gens are 18-21). I know that I have contributed to their maturation as much as those that helped me. We've seen marriages, divorces, and pregnancies over the years. We've welcomed people back when they were down on their luck and then wished them all the best when they find a better opportunity. We've developed bonds with customers and looked for them at our major events year after year.
My chapter in this story has come to an end, but the book is not yet finished. There will be so many other women to pass through those doors and life will continue to go on inside those walls. The cramped back room with minimal storage space for product, larger than expected shipments, late night stocking and display changes while management is cursed. Friendships will flourish, secrets will be shared and kept, confidence will be gained. People will be stretched to their limits, pick up extra hours to makes ends meet, and some will move on.
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