Whoa! It's such a long time since last time!

The Beginning of a new year is always a time of reflection for me. I never make New Year's resolutions because I'm an absolute bitch at keeping them! But I do like to sit back and think about what may happen, what could happen (if I got my butt into gear!) and what may be the surprises along the way. This year is no exception. It could be a very different year for Peter and me, or it could just be the same year in business as it has been for the last nine years.
We've been in business at Artisans on the hill for nine years. Peter made the comment last night that we are in our TENTH year! Where this time has gone is unbelievable - blink of the eye stuff! However, having said all that, we have put our business on the market!
A kaleidoscope of emotions accompanied our protracted decision to sell up and move on. It was prompted by an equally diverse number of reasons to do so. Probably the first and foremost reason has been my physical health, nothing major, but a combination of a whole cavalcade of small niggles (the most interesting thing  to observe is that once we made the decision to sell, most of these have either improved or totally gone! Hmmmmmm!) My ability, and somewhat Peter's, to cope with the physical strains of running our diverse business are taking a toll on us, physically, mentally and emotionally. The sheer size of the property, the five bedroom accommodation, the grounds and general ongoing maintenance are constant, and sometimes overwhelming.
Peter was ambivalent about this decision far longer than I was and remains so. It is an emotional rollercoaster making this decision as we have instilled so much of ourselves into this crazy dream of ours that we created, in our own imaginations, over twelve years ago.  I have spent the last few months feeling sad, happy, excited, afraid, doubtful, enthusiastic, confident, exhausted, troubled, but overall a sense of calmness that we are making the right decision.
To sell a business such as ours is quite difficult. We established it to be unique and that's exactly what it is. That's all very well, when you own it and are running it for it's unique purpose, but when you come to sell, you have to find someone who has the same vision you have.  We decided that was probably not possible, so we are selling a four-bedroom, three bathroom home with an attached two-bedroom, two bathroom unit, or a six bedroom house with three living areas, and a study.... so many options to offer, hopefully we can find one buyer, who is willing to pay our price!