so damn lucky

I am one lucky woman. I haven't talked about it too much on here as I try to mix work with my blog, but in addition to my regular 9-5, for the past year I've lived and worked in a Bed and Breakfast. It's in a creaky old house with uneven wood floors, crumbling chimneys, and chipped paint. It's the most comfortable and inviting place I've ever lived. Sally owns the Inn is one of the most amazing women I've ever met. She started this business on her own with two little ones at her heels. Over the years she built a solid foundation on sourdough blueberry pancakes, good conversation, and an open door. I can't count how many people have come to her for a hot cup of coffee, a warm bed, a wedding or an anniversary, a job, a home, a family.

Sally has done more for me than she will ever know probably. She welcomed me into her home, her business, her family. She's my othermother--the woman I came to when my parents separated, when my boyfriend and I broke up, when I quit my job. Always with a cup of tea, Sally has been there to offer support and encouragement. She gave me the opportunity to realize my dream of being an Innkeeper. This experience has sparked a desire within me to have my own Bed and Breakfast one day. I want to bake bread, grow herbs, and decorate rooms. I want to tend a garden, make cheese, and run my own business. It all seems so much more plausible now that I've experienced it firsthand.

I'll be very sad to leave the Inn. I've complained countless times about snobbish guests, the imperfections of an old house, the incessant bell and reservation requests at 11:00pm. But, these inconsequential things were a tiny price to pay for all the summer nights on the back porch overlooking the rose arbor, for skip (or stumble)into town, for the 'family' dinners, for the fresh baked coffee cake, for the fresh herbs and raspberries, and for the fireside friendships. I'm now just one of the people in a long line who have become part of this Inn, and for that I am forever grateful.