Not enough "REAL" stores anymore.

I headed for the outlet mall after church today to look for baby shower items at the Paper Factory.  Besides Wal-Mart and Target, this is the only place in town to buy party supplies.  Correction, WAS the only place in town to buy party supplies.  It was there a month ago.  I even walked inside.  Today, totally empty store.

About 45 minutes away, there is a Hobby Lobby, but the selection in the party supply department is very limited.  For an actual party supply store, I have to travel at least an hour and a half away form my home.  Yes, the world wide web does offer just about everything you could ever want or need, but I am the type of person who likes to see what I am purchasing with my own eyes before I pay good money for it, in a "real" store.  A store I can walk into, look around, pick items up and really get a good look at, pay a human being for, and then take my purchase home for immediate access to rather than waiting 4-6 weeks for it to show up at my door.  (Hey, I hate having to pay any shipping extra, so no way do I splurge for the express service.)

My long-term plans for Events DEE-signed include a building to host parties in, combined with a party supply store.  That way, hopefully, I will be able to let people see what is available and have immediate access to it, plus offer an area outside of their home to hold events.  Maybe my frustration today is a way to encourage me to reach for that goal sooner rather than later.  The scary part is that over the past few years I have seen two party supply stores come and go in this area.  My town is a tourist town, so the business is very seasonal.  Why would I have better luck keeping this type of store afloat than these other people have had?  Well, I guess that is where my own self-confidence comes in, huh?  This gives me lots of new things to think about, and another goal to reach for.

Here is a nice thought from Michelangelo to end with:  "The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it."