Boys II Men got it right. It is so hard to say goodbye. I hate goodbyes and I rarely say them. I prefer, "see you later", "until next time", "talk soon". Goodbye is just so final. Sadly, the time has come to say goodbye - to Borders. I've had a hard time going there since they announced the news. Sure, there are some great deals, but something about all those loud posters shouting "It's the End!" and people walking out with bookshelves, chairs, cafe equipment - it just makes me sad. I know, you might think I'm being a bit dramatic about this whole thing. I mean, come on, it's just a bookstore. Well, to me it's not just a bookstore or it wouldn't pull on the heartstrings so much.
A couple days ago I sat in the near-empty children's section while my kids played with the last of the puppets and bargain books. I was choked up just being there and started to think about why. Here's what I got.
I've been going to Borders for over 15 years. It has seen me through pretty much every stage of adulthood. Throughout the years, you would find me:
- Writing out lesson plans as a nervous first year teacher, buying too many books with too little of a paycheck.
- In the cafe: corner table, ocean-side, with journal, a hot chai and big dreams as I planned out the next phase of life.
- Listening to the latest jazz album in the music section, wishing I could scat.
- Studying for the LSAT.
- Learning the law (I thought me and my bleeding heart were going to save the world).
- Having coffee and dessert with my boyfriend, turned fiance, turned husband.
- Studying for the bar exam (with earplugs).
- Buying books on finance, health, buying your first home, owning your own business, living the life God intended.
- Reading What to Expect When You're Expecting.
- On the floor during children's story time.
- In the cafe with 2 daughters, on Valentines Day, an hour before getting a call that I had an abnormal MRI.
- Researching chronic auto-immune disease, diet, health, healing, pain, faith.
- Buying How to Write and Publish a Book - For Dummies.
Yes, Borders has seen me through adulthood. If they could trace my purchases, the books and music alone would tell a story - a life's journey. I don't want to be there on the last day. I don't want to see it empty. Somehow, I want to remember it bustling with people, shelves stocked, coffee brewing, music playing - full of life, full of stories, full of tomorrows.
Thank you, Borders, for helping me grow and learn and thrive. It has been an amazing ride.
Goodbye...
Kim
