The End of an Era

When I look back on my life, I see blocks of years.

There was the silly, somewhat gawky girl in school who was everybody’s buddy. School was fun and not taken nearly as seriously as it should have been.

Later came a block of years where working for a large music distributor brought about a more confident young woman who met musicians and was on the receiving end of some very cool swag and a ton of fun.

That lifestyle was set aside, and an athlete appeared in the new block of years. Racquetball, softball, and bowling filled the spaces between work and sleep.

Climbing the corporate ladder eventually replaced sports, and the fast-paced world of decision-making, advertising, brainstorming, and training filled nearly every waking minute of every day.

Marriage and a little boy who needed his mommy brought it all to a screeching halt, and a new block emerged.

Deciding to homeschool our son was a big decision, and I went from the boardroom to the schoolroom. A five-year-old became the person I conversed with most. I traded suits and heels for jeans and tennis shoes. I became a kid again.

A few years later, we bought a computer. We were on the internet. We found eBay! Our home business was born.

We started traveling all over NE Ohio to library book sales where we purchased used children’s books for resale on our own website and on eBay. eBay was in its infancy, and you could see all of the books for sale, in all genres, on just a page or two. Today, there are over one million books for sale on eBay.

Our living room when it was full of industrial shelves and books.

For sixteen years, we’ve shopped, we’ve sold, we’ve packed, and we’ve hauled heavy boxes of books to the post office. It has been worth it, but it’s been harder work than you might think. I’ve often thought I needed to quit because the heavy lifting is taking such a toll on my back and arms.

Two weeks ago, I was working on an update to our site by adding another 400 books to the pages. I was looking forward to the income an update would generate, but I was not looking forward to pulling orders and packing boxes.

Before I was finished with the typing, an email arrived from a family who was placing an order for 135 books already listed on the site. Rich came home from work the next day while I was pulling the order. When I told him about it, he asked, “Why don’t you make her an offer to buy all of your inventory, and then you can finally be done with book selling?”

Really? Was he serious?

We estimated the number of boxes and the weight to ship everything at once, and then he checked shipping quotes. I sent an email back to her with an offer she couldn’t refuse, and she didn’t!

So now we are in the process of packing for the last time. We’ll take all of the boxes to Rich’s work where they will be put on a pallet, wrapped, and shipped across the country.

I am so excited to rid my house of boxes, styrofoam peanuts, packing material, tape, and paperwork! My bookshelves will once again hold my hardcover books. The kitchen table won’t be stacked sky high with books. We will no longer be walking around stacks of books on the floor. Our house will be a home again.

Now that our son is moved out and on his own, and now that my used book business will soon be shipped out of my life, and with only one Susan Hunter book left to write … I can’t help but wonder what the next block of years will bring.

Maybe I should buy a Harley.