Three years have passed since David and I became partners. Three years in which we have built something that neither of us could have imagined when everything fell apart. The business grew beyond our wildest dreams.
Grandma Margaret’s Kitchen now has two locations, one in town and one in the city. We employ 15 people, all women from the area who needed decent work. Ashley, the young woman who helped us with marketing, is now our general manager.
But the most important thing is not the numbers in the bank accounts. The most important thing is what we built as a family.
David kept every one of his promises. He works from 5 in the morning until night. He handles deliveries. He supervises the construction of new facilities. And never, not once, has he questioned my decisions as the boss.
“You know what I like most about working with you?” He told me recently as we were loading boxes for a large delivery.
“What?”
“That I finally see you for who you really are. Not as the mom who took care of me, but as the smart and strong woman you always were.”
Those words filled my heart in a way I hadn’t felt in years.
Helen is still my partner and my best friend. She now officially lives in the house with me. We turned the guest room into her personal bedroom. And at night, we sit on the porch planning new projects while we drink herbal tea we grow in our garden.
“Can you imagine if they had told us 5 years ago that we would be successful business women in our 70s?” She says laughing.
