It is special. I believe.

There are beautiful and thoughtful bookstores and small businesses sprinkled all over the world.

Every time I walk into one – I just know. It is….loved.

I have written before throughout these posts how much the Bee Hive nurtures me. We nurture each other. I am not the most unbiased judge of the store’s positive traits. Or, not so positive traits for that matter. But, I have beared witness on countless occasions over the years to people’s beautiful reactions upon entering the store for the first time. The books, the space, the light…Maybe they feel that it is loved. Maybe, they too, believe that it is special.

And, those reactions are based strictly on the physical aspect of the store. People who are visitors in town and just passing through don’t even get the full Bee Hive experience.

The community. The connections. The people. The people that there would be no Bee Hive without. The people who have shared their kids, their reading, the books they love and don’t love over the years. The people who come by to pick up a book and stay to catch up. The people who like the choices and recommendations and come by every time they need something new to read. The people who bring Valentines and holiday treats and share special photos and ask about my kids…every time. The people who are rooting for the specialness.

“I have beared witness on countless occasions over the years to people’s beautiful reactions upon entering the store for the first time…Maybe, they too, believe that it is special.”

The Bee Hive has stood proud, if somewhat shakily, for 12 years in the white house on the corner of Montezuma and Guadalupe. It is natural to assume that it will just be there the next time you drive by or next year when you need to buy gifts for your nephew.

I don’t know…

I mean life offers very few, if any, guarantees.

But, I do know that the Bee Hive is destined to become a mythical creature. Some day.

So. I think you should love it.

Not just as the place in the house on Montezuma that has been there since the kids in your life were small.

But as the destination that people come to from out of town. Because there is no place like it where they live.

Because it is special.

And…

It isn’t forever.