I Sold My Business

It’s strange to say that I’m unemployed…

Photo by Carlos Muza on Unsplash

Six weeks ago, for the first time in my adult life, I became unemployed.

Previously I had lived a life that was very much controlled by the clock.

Working full-time (plus!) in the corporate world, volunteering after hours, and somehow managing to whittle out some hours to be a mom and wife.

For fifteen years every moment of my day was devoted to something or someone other than me.

Why am I unemployed?

I sold my business.

It still seems strange to say that, and I’m sure that it will be strange to say that for many months, if not years, to come.

To provide a little context, it was a family business and I was the third generation owner-operator. We sold petroleum products — meaning fuel. Retail and commercially — meaning we had gas stations for retail sales and we also delivered fuel to commercial businesses.

I took over from my father eleven years ago, who took over from his father in the 1980’s. For 58 years my family had put our blood, sweat and tears into making it successful — and it was.

The business had become a staple in our community. Over the years we employed thousands of residents, and gave millions of…