who knew that the closing of a retail store could inspire a blog post...?
the lamp and poster in daughter's bedroom...(from Target of course!)
I happened to have a few errands to run on the first day that Target Canada was having its closing out sale.....:)
After having announced a few weeks prior that Target stores were closing... I anticipated this happening with mixed emotions...
The parking lot indicated I wasn't the only one.
I hadn't seen it like this even around Christmas!
Having a Target in fairly close proximity, I had developed a retail relationship..:)
I managed to find a shopping cart that a shopper had just finished with, the others were all used, and in every aisle were people milling about anxious to save a few dollars on purchases they may or may not have really wanted.
I made my way to the home decor aisle....I had found so many great deals here in it's short life.... decor items...clothing and craft supplies...(I look around my home and see reminders everywhere....)
Now I felt like I was attending a funeral of sorts.... all of us offering our condolences if you will, to a situation and a decision out of our hands.
Although Target's demise was not a surprise; the gigantic store seemed unable to compete with people's expectations for lower prices and great selection.It seemed evident from the beginning that its days here would be numbered.
The lack of regular, loyal patrons was the bottom line.
It made me ponder humanity and how someone can be larger in death than in life.
How dying seems to somehow brings them a sort of fame...
How suddenly the deceased is an icon, someone to revere...
Don't get me wrong I am all for honouring and bestowing kind words to the remembrance of a departed loved one...
Memorial services should be beautiful tributes to the life someone lived....
but life really is for living...for appreciating the people who are in my life.
For a bouquet of flowers now, not a coffin loaded with them later...
For a kind word spoken gently; not a eulogy they will never hear.
For eyes expressing understanding and empathy,
not for tears on a lonely grave.......
back home with the candle I purchased...
Yes Target you did bless my life for a time...I am grateful.
But even more for the timeless lesson that your passing revealed.
I happened to have a few errands to run on the first day that Target Canada was having its closing out sale.....:)
After having announced a few weeks prior that Target stores were closing... I anticipated this happening with mixed emotions...
The parking lot indicated I wasn't the only one.
I hadn't seen it like this even around Christmas!
Having a Target in fairly close proximity, I had developed a retail relationship..:)
I made my way to the home decor aisle....I had found so many great deals here in it's short life.... decor items...clothing and craft supplies...(I look around my home and see reminders everywhere....)
Now I felt like I was attending a funeral of sorts.... all of us offering our condolences if you will, to a situation and a decision out of our hands.
Although Target's demise was not a surprise; the gigantic store seemed unable to compete with people's expectations for lower prices and great selection.It seemed evident from the beginning that its days here would be numbered.
The lack of regular, loyal patrons was the bottom line.
It made me ponder humanity and how someone can be larger in death than in life.
How dying seems to somehow brings them a sort of fame...
How suddenly the deceased is an icon, someone to revere...
Don't get me wrong I am all for honouring and bestowing kind words to the remembrance of a departed loved one...
Memorial services should be beautiful tributes to the life someone lived....
but life really is for living...for appreciating the people who are in my life.
For a bouquet of flowers now, not a coffin loaded with them later...
For a kind word spoken gently; not a eulogy they will never hear.
For eyes expressing understanding and empathy,
not for tears on a lonely grave.......
Yes Target you did bless my life for a time...I am grateful.
But even more for the timeless lesson that your passing revealed.
You never know what will trigger some pondering...even the closing of Target! (I'd certainly miss "my" Target if it closed!)
ReplyDeleteBut your point is well taken. Appreciate the "now."
Oh here, Lucy, Target is beloved by so many of us. It has this and that and everything we need in one store. I really liked what you said about appreciating what is in your life now. It is very true, and well said. Love the "hello beautiful" sign and the pink lamp. Target is a favorite of mine, indeed.
ReplyDeletelove, ~Sheri
On my last trip to the GTA, I was very excited to FINALLY have a chance to visit Target, as I had heard so much about it from my American friends in Blogland. Sadly, like most Canadians, I was disappointed with the prices, the stock, and the service, and after one speedy visit, (nothing tempted me to linger longer), I predicted its dreadful destiny. Boy, was I missing the dearly departed, and proudly Canadian Zellers! But, I am glad that I loved and cherished and shopped it, while it was still among the living, for it was very deserving of that devotion, until it was wiped off the face of the earth by Walmart.
ReplyDeleteRIP Zellers, you are greatly missed.
Lucy, such eloquence for the inevitable fate of this 'ex pat' American giant, but more so, in the life lesson that inspired it.
Poppy
I hear you Poppy. So many of us were too disappointed ...I really only shopped clearance items,...you are right...they just didn't deliver. Thank you for your thoughts and visit.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful turn of thought. As you said at the beginning, who know that the stores closing would set the stage for a lovely post.
ReplyDeleteWishing you a beautiful day... Happy Valentine's weekend, Lucy!
Brenda
xox