It was prophetic that I changed
my profile Facebook Banner when I did. It reads ‘Life doesn’t have to be
perfect to be wonderful’ or something close to that. I was surprised at the
number of positive reactions to this picture because we were, and still are, in
the middle of COVID-19, a deadly and highly contagious virus that is keeping us
apart from our loved ones. Our children and grandchildren aren’t within hugging
reach. But Facebook posts and pictures prove that most families are finding
alternate ways of showing love. It is touching and deliberate. I like that. Not
perfect but still wonderful.
Aside from my own restrictions to
family, I no longer had a book launch to anticipate. Social distancing… But
then my publisher came up with a scheme. A midway-point gravel parking lot
where we could meet. An open hatchback with champagne (nice surprise) and boxes
of books. And she made a phone video for YouTube of me seeing my book for the very first time. A
monumental moment. Come on, I’d waited years for this day. I was excited. It
didn’t matter that there were only the two of us present. I was there for the
big reveal and it couldn’t have been more gratifying than if I’d been in a
bookstore filled with supporters.
Life doesn’t have to be perfect
to be wonderful.
We are finding that out, each in
our own way…
Hazards of the Trade is a
personal disclosure of nearly twenty years of humorous and sad reflections from
the naïve start up of a small-town lingerie boutique to the ultimate
farewell.
The era began with retailers
in impossibly high heels and designer suits attending the Ontario Fashion
Exhibitors market at the prestigious King Edward Hotel in downtown Toronto and
ended with buyers in rubber-soled shoes and sweatpants at the Congress Centre
near the airport. While high-end fashion shows and buying trips might seem
glamorous, evading a stalker and trying to evict a rabid squirrel from the shop
might not. But it was all part of being in the Trade. That, and so much more.