The Dawn-ing of a New Era at AE - Aug. 27, 2010

 I hit the road today for Moncton.

 Back tonight.

 Shelley is in Woodstock.

 Back this afternoon.

 I wish I could say there was a huge banner hanging from Animal Essentials and we were both going to be there at three this afternoon.

 Cannot do it.

 Which is kind of crazy, but none of us can perfect that two places at once thing we all strive for.

 Today is the last day Dawn will work at Animal Essentials.

 I have penned a couple of columns in the past leading up to this moment, but today is cold, hard reality.

 She is moving to Ontario to be with her growing crew of grandchildren.

 Pretty hard to compete against that.

 But, hey, she is a grandmother multiple times, she has worked a long career in the nursing industry and she gave us almost four years of dedicated service. She has watched us grow from humble beginnings to a legitimate destination store in the Greater Fredericton area.

 But along the way, she became more than an employee.

 She became Aunt Dawn.

 She had worked hard on our behalf. Managed the store when we were away. Looked after our cat at home when called upon. Dealt with Ashley. Worked with folks like Tom and Karen and now Nancy and Shaunna to prepare them for odd questions and weird situations.

 She has laughed, she has cried.

 She has done so much for both Shelley and I.

 Hey, we know it is retail and in retail, things change.

 A lot.

 But she was a constant.

 Part of the family.

 And on her last day today we are going to miss her.

 Dearly.

 We will take her out for supper sometime soon and tell her exactly what I have told you.

 Meanwhile, Ashley wraps up his career at AE on Sunday.

 He has grown into more than an employee, too.

 He plays soccer with our girls, has been on the deck for some pints, has frustrated us with his constant shift change requests, but has been there more often than not.

 It just seems odd that we wave goodbye to folks who have been with us for so long.

 But as I mentioned before, this is also about the future.

 Our two new members in Nancy and Shaunna have fit in.

 Tom and Karen are still in the stable and all of a sudden are long on experience. We need to lean on them, too. And we will.

 So, if you do get a chance to say goodbye today to Dawn, drop in.

 And if you want to say see ya to Ash, drop in Sunday.

 Weird day today, that is what it is.

 But I feel good about the next chapter.