Money money money! Cue Pink Floyd, the Beatles, or that Apprentice theme song (For The Love of Money by the O’Jays- I googled it). I really hate this topic. I know you’d never believe it but I do. And obviously it has been the most deciding factor for WeatherVane Creamery coming into existence so I have been dealing with it quite a bit for the past two years. Not dealing with the paper stuff- no, the emotional stuff. Ugh- the WORST!!! And as I come to nearing the end (I hope!) of asking for money, it is a story that begs to be told. Not so much for you, but for me. I want to remember this part of the journey.
I guess it all started, well… aside from what I learned from my parents that is- when I got fired at Duck Delivery in Portland. Suddenly and quite unexpectedly, I was unemployed. We all know what unemployed people do in this country: apply for unemployment insurance. So that was a blessing to have and not one that I necessarily felt entitled to. That carried me for a year and a half. But anyway, I found myself without a job or a car or a place to live all at once. Oh, and I had a trip to San Francisco planned as a part of a Landmark Education course that I was in. I had never been to San Francisco before and it felt very clear that if I didn’t go now, it could possibly never happen.
Enter my friend Helen. She wanted to hook me up with her friend, Peg, to do some business networking. Helen is kind of a pushy mom type that you just say ‘yes’ to and know that is well intentioned and loves you. Anyway, I am in my friend Julie’s car coming back from the Starbucks Shareholders Meeting in Seattle. I think we were passing through Olympia. I am sure that everything was green and beautiful out, probably around 65 degrees. It always is on that trip in March. I get a phone call and it’s a mildly frantic Helen. “Sarah! Sarah! I forgot to mention to you that my friend Peg is also a tarot reader and anyway she is doing readings for donations at a coffee shop and I signed you up!” I laugh. What has Helen gotten me into? The coffee shop is also right on Julie’s and my way home so Julie drops me off. I am glad to see that Peg, aka Lady Zelda, is not wearing a velvet shawl or hoop earrings. She is just a regular person. I put a $10 into her jar.
The majority of the reading I am keeping private but know that it was shockingly accurate. There was just one detail that was a little foggy that didn’t seem to resonate. But one of the things she said was “Money is going to be ok right now. It won’t be a problem.” That seemed unlikely considering my job status. In any case, I set my sights on returning to the Midwest. I sold some Mary Kay inventory and supplies that I had stashed from my former MK days, cashed out a savings account that had some money in from when I sold my car, dusted off the credit cards, and got some tax money back. Money wasn’t a problem. I had a great time in San Francisco and even bought some home decorations and a beautiful Asian jacket… the one I wore at Empowering Taste last August. And then I rented a rental truck and crossed over our great nation and stayed in some hotels. And still, money wasn’t a problem. Upon arriving in Wisconsin I stayed with some friends and was able to save up enough from my unemployment to buy a car with cash. Who knew?
Oh boy I do remember. Making the connection between you and Peg was a very good thing