This Is Not Goodbye…
I’ve written and re-written this post about twenty times so far. I have not been able to get it right. No matter how hard I try, it just never captures all the things I want to say. So, I am just going to type, and whatever the end result is, I’m sticking with it this time.
As many of you know, this summer, I sent my three (triplet) oldest boys off to college. One in Virginia to study finance, one in Denver to study architecture, and one in Los Angeles to study acting. Almost overnight, my house went from loud and raucous to pretty quiet. My youngest, my husband, and I are all still trying to figure out this new household dynamic. We are already looking forward to the holidays when they will return the house to the chaos we now seem to remember fondly.
I knew this was coming. When I realized that they would be spread across the country and only home for holidays and summers, I knew something else as well. I knew that I would want to have the flexibility to fly out to see them whenever I wanted. I wanted to be fully present with them through the holidays and to be able to travel with them during breaks. I knew this, and I knew what it meant. I would have to move on from Bellacara. Bellacara is busiest during the holidays. That’s the nature of retail. It’s when it demands my most attention; any less would be a disservice to my customers. I just can’t be there during those times anymore.
Bellacara has been a major part of my life for over 21 years. Customers have become friends. We’ve been through a lot together. We’ve seen each other through happy times, weddings, births, graduations, and anniversaries, but we’ve also seen illnesses, deaths, and sorrow. We’ve hugged, and we’ve cried. Our children have grown up together. In fact, some of those little ones that were tugging on you to leave the store are now working in the store as young adults. It feels like yesterday, and yet it also feels like it was so long ago that Bellacara first opened its doors. The store has become a part of the fabric of Old Town, and leaving meant finding someone who would love Bellacara as much as I have all these years.
I think that when that person finally appeared, I knew it was time for me to pass the torch. I wanted to leave the store with someone who has been in the beauty industry and knows my product. Someone who lives in Alexandria and would be close to the store. Someone whose dream would be to own not just any store but to own Bellacara. Someone who has the excitement and the drive to take Bellacara to the next level. To search out new product lines and to reactivate the in-store event offerings. This is what Bellacara needs and deserves. But, the most important quality is that this person loves Bellacara. I am happy to tell you that the person who bought Bellacara is also someone many of you have met already. I wanted you to have a familiar face greeting you, and that person is Celthia Corsino. Celthia, who has been working with me for the past four years, is the new owner of Bellacara.
I want you to also know that… this is not goodbye. I will be helping Celthia with the transition. I will still be coming in and helping with important events. I will still be around. We will also be having a “Passing of the Torch” party sometime in November, so please stay tuned. I would love to see you all there. I know I won’t always be in when you stop in, so this will be a good way for me to see everyone. You have all made the past 21 years so amazing. I cannot tell you all how much you mean to me, how much I will miss seeing you all the time, and how important you have been in my life. Thank you is really what I want to say. Thank you, thank you, thank you. XOXO
