Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

Yes, I have just returned from the beach. Yes, I have great pictures of the kids and great stories to share from our trip. Yes, I wish I were back there right now. But today I am not going to write about vacation. I am much too busy to even think about how relaxing it was down on St. Simon's Island. I am so anxious about other things that I cannot possibly focus my attention on wading for hours searching for sand dollars or coming home with what might possibly be called a "tan" for the first time in years. You see, I have taken on something new - an ebay store. Before we left, I posted my first set of items and today I am due to post more before my first auctions end. I felt nervous like this the first time - but then once they were up, I relaxed. I figured it was opening the store nervousness, but apparently, it's going to ball me up and play with my dream/sleep cycle every time it's time to list. So, even though I'm busy and even though the mother in me wants to talk about the first sandcastle I built with Ford, I am finding this post perfectly cathartic.



Here's how the store came about. A couple of months ago, Baxter's grandmother passed away. She lived here in Athens and I knew her myself for almost 10 years. She was absolutely wonderful. Her name was Charlsie Guimarin Jackson Fulwiler and she had this air about her (even in her 90s) of beauty and sophistication. She was born in a tiny Texas town that never was big enough for her. She lived and traveled all over the place in her life. She worked for Neiman Marcus as a window dresser and something of a "design display consultant". She was quite a talented artist in her own right and we have several pieces in our home that she did that I will always cherish. She was married three times (twice to the same man) and best of all, she knew how to share all of her experiences with people. She could tell a story that would captivate a lonely bachelor from south Georgia or endear her to the rich and powerful jet setters she so often found herself in the company of. All along the way, Charlsie collected things - antiques, jewelry, photographs, memories - and a TON of clothes! So, I am now the proprietor of "Miss Charlsie's Closet", an ebay store, playing host to her memories of fashionable days gone by. Some of this stuff is amazing but I've been a little scared to touch the amazing stuff yet. Part of me knows that somewhere she's proud of me - it is exactly the type of thing she would have done, create something beautiful, exciting and maybe even lucrative out of a tragic loss - and part of me is worried that I'm going to disappoint.



So, there you have it. Now I have to take a little bit of Charlsie's vivaciousness and lust for life and apply it here. Right here through my keyboard. Wish me luck . . . and visit my store!



http://stores.ebay.com/Miss-Charlsies-Closet