It’s almost time for First Friday sales again at Good Juju.
The delightful vendors there all offered to redo my booth for me while I’m recuperating from rotator cuff surgery.
Which was quite generous. The owners and vendors have enough to do, working on their own spaces.
Ahead of the operation, I planned the space well, setting up mostly shelving displays and tagging boxes full of inventory in advance.
After my shoulder was worked on, I discovered that the pain wasn’t nearly as bad as I was warned it would be. Oh, yes, it hurt like crazy and I felt wiped out. But I could also deal with it better than expected since I’d been used to the constant ache for years.
It didn’t take long for me to be acceptably good at doing things left handed. And the booth was pretty much set up for popping new items into holes left by the previous sale.
While being careful and knowing my limitations, I figured I could manage the redo for the upcoming April sale.
For a while, I can’t drive or lift anything over 2lbs. So Rich loaded up the car then unloaded the boxes at Juju. He dropped me off with my crates of inventory placed in easy range for me to do some simple, left handed rearranging and refilling.
I will admit that the first trip was too much for me. Maybe I should’ve waited a week, not jumped in so soon. The next two visits went better, but did leave me drained.
My plan for having easy to fill in shelving sure helped. Typically, I shuffle all the pieces of furniture around for a new look each month. But that won’t happen for a while.
Not needing a major change sure made my mini redo go smoothly, even with one arm. Rich spent a few hours playing pool with his Kansas City buddies while I puttered about and emptied boxes. Then, he’d pick me up a do a couple little tasks that I couldn’t manage myself.
The arrangement worked out splendidly. I got out of the house, which I really needed. And I didn’t have to rely on other vendors too much. They are already doing a lot for me, by turning my lights off and on, helping my shoppers, and keeping the space picked up. I didn’t want to take advantage of their generosity.
There will be a few more months of this style of set up before I can go full force again. I will soon be able to drive but still won’t be able to carry my own things. I’ll be relying on Rich and the other dealers quite a bit.
I’m quite happy that I can manage as much as I have. And also very blessed that I have so much help to do the things I cannot.
I feel very blessed.