Reflection: While My Mall Gently Weeps

   

     As the editor of Trip to the Mall I have been rather absent with content the last few months. I have not been going to any new malls or documenting much new content. With massive store closing sales including Toys R Us, The Bon-Ton and Sears, my best efforts to documenting these closures have been only frequenting my local area as best as I can. Several unforeseen circumstances have caused the future of Trip to the Mall to be sparing to new malls and destinations as I no longer have adequate time or funds to explore retail as I would like to as of right now. I am an only child to a very small family, who as any family may fight at times, disagree and argue, but love each other very much, and make an effort to spend as much time with each other as possible.

     The passing of my Father in January brought on the limitation of traveling and mall walking. Checking out new chain stores, and enjoying first time meals at new fast food chains. My local area mall is loosing its Sears and Carson Pirie Scott and Toys R Us in the adjacent lot has just closed. For the past 16 years, I have made peace with calling my community home, and watching it grow so much, and seeing so much change...for the good and the bad. Seeing so many stores close and new ones open, different chains come and go, and spending a lot of time with my Father at these places. Although he is gone, the stores are still here. However, time goes on and now the mall he took me to as a young child and shortly before his passing, us walking around together joking about Sears and laughing with the clerks at the Carson's cologne counter, time has come for the stores to leave too. The memories will never fade away, My Father will always be in my heart, and my once favorite places to shop will only exist in photographs.

     It has been a difficult past few months but some good will surely come out of it. Life will bring on new challenges and difficulties, but as my Father proved to me, never stop trying, always push through and never give up. As I was 20 years old when my Father died, listening to a song from the band Green day causes me to shed a different kind of tear now, the song "Wake Me Up When September Ends" has a lyric that is all too relatable..."Like my Fathers come to pass, twenty years as gone so fast". Time really flies, and 20 years has definitely gone by fast. Thank you for reading my friendly fellow retail lovers, surely some new and different malls can be seen shortly.