10/24/2026
❤️ A Walk Down Memory Lane… and a Moment I Wasn’t Expecting.
While visiting the Houston area this week, I made my way back to Santa Fe, Texas, a small town south of Houston where I grew up, went to school, and where so many of my childhood memories began. There was one particular building I wanted to find. I was almost certain I knew where it was, but I needed to see it for myself.
I pulled into the parking lot, walked up to the building, and noticed it was now an investment office. Painted white….not red..anymore, I decided to go inside and ask a few questions.
The gentleman who owned the business was kind enough to come out and speak with me. I first asked how old the building was. He thought it was around 43 years old. Then I asked if he knew what businesses had occupied it back in the 1980s.
He mentioned a hair salon.
And then he said, “There was a pet store here.”
And just like that, I felt the tears coming.
Because that wasn’t just any pet store. That was my mom’s pet store. ❤️
I knew I had found the right building, but hearing someone else confirm it made everything so real. Suddenly, I wasn’t standing in an investment office anymore. In my mind, I was back in the late 1980s, working alongside my mom in one of my very first jobs.
It’s funny how a building can hold so many memories, even when everything inside has changed.
That little pet store was my mom’s first brick-and-mortar business. She was always an entrepreneur, but this was something special. Eventually, she opened another pet store about 25 miles away in Friendswood, Texas, and I helped her get that business going and actually ran that location.
Little did I know back then that all these years later, I would be following in her footsteps.
When I opened Paws on Main eight years ago, my mom had some advice for me. She said, “If you’re going to open a pet store, don’t carry dog or cat food!” 😂 And I listened! She had her business reasons, and after spending so many years in the pet industry, I understood exactly what she meant. I wanted to create something a little different, something that was uniquely mine, while still carrying forward what she had taught me.
My mom passed away in May 2024, and I know how proud she was to see me become a business owner in the very industry where she gave me my start.
But standing in front of that building this week brought on emotions I wasn’t prepared for.
Maybe it was the memories. Maybe it was realizing just how much of my life began in that little building. Or maybe it was simply missing my mom and wishing I could call her and tell her, “Mom, I found our old store!”
Almost 40 years later, here I am, still in the pet business, still doing what I love, and still carrying a little piece of my mom with me every single day.
I went looking for an old building in Santa Fe, Texas. What I actually found was a beautiful reminder of where it all began. ❤️🐾
Thanks, Mom. I hope I’m making you proud…
Have you ever returned to a place from your childhood or past that brought back so many memories and emotions you weren't expecting? I'd love to hear your stories. ❤
