No More NAPA

As many of you know, I have several occupations. I am very blessed with my employment opportunites, especially in such hard economic times across the country.
Most recently, I became the maintenance supervisor at the Perry County Fairgrounds. I like this job because it not only pays a lot more than my other jobs, but it allows me to work whenever I want to, as long as all the events at the fairgrounds have their needs met.
I am also the Service Crew Supervisor at CABS, for OSU. I started as a driver for CABS in September 2008, and was promoted to supervisor in September 2009. I have learned so much about leadership with this job. The hours arn't the greatest (5pm-11pm Sunday through Friday), but most of the time it doesn't interfere with my class schedule. Plus, I can usually get time off if I need it.
While I love these jobs (I actually do enjoy both very much), it is my job at NAPA that means the most to me. I have been at Thornville NAPA for the past 7 years. I worked there through high school and stayed on to work weekends through college. I got to know 2 of the greatest friends a guy could ask for in my bosses, Wes and Phil Harlan; learned about parts and how to work on cars/trucks/tractors/boats/etc; learned how a small business operates; and have built relationships with so many people from Thornville and surrounding communities. Working at NAPA has been an experience that is truely invaluable to me.
Last week, I called to order a muffler for a truck that I have been working on for my dad's friend. Wes let me know that they hired his son Lukas to start working at NAPA after school and on Saturdays. What this means for me is that I have been forced into retirement from NAPA. It's kinda funny that I have replaced by a 15 year-old sophomore in high school with very little experience.
Most people would be upset about losing a job that they love to some snot-nosed kid, but not this guy. (editor's note: He's actually a great kid, I watched him grow up.) Wes and Phil seem like family to me, and I know the decisions that they made were with my best interests in mind. I also knew that the time was coming when Lukas would replace me- I just hadn't thought about it lately, which is why this kinda caught me by surprise. The money I make at NAPA is barely enough to cover my fuel money to get to work and back. Wes and Phil know that I make more money at my other jobs, so this will allow me to work at my higher-paying jobs.
I haven't pushed for a raise at NAPA for several reasons:

1. NAPA doesn't seem like a job to me. It's more like a 6 hour-long social event during which I occasionally have to help people.
2. I can get off any time I want with little or no notice. They are very flexible with giving me time off when I need it (and I'm a few minutes late for work nearly every Saturday and they never say anything about it).
3. Most importantly, I work for the discount. It might be accurate to say that on average, I spend my entire paycheck on parts. After I'm gone, Wes and Phil said they will keep my discount as long as possible.

So this Saturday will be my last day at NAPA. It will feel so weird to get up Saturday morning and make the 11 minute drive to NAPA for the last time as an employee. I know that as long as I live in or around Perry-dise, I will be a customer of theirs, but that store that I have spent thousands of hours in will never be the same. Whether they realize it or not, though, I will keep my key because it is so handy to get in there whenever I want.