We Really Like Being Innkeepers

“You really like being innkeepers, don’t you?”   This was one of the nicest things that a guest has said to us.   We heard that this morning.   They are right, we love being innkeepers.   It is so much fun meeting new guests and welcoming them into the Pearl community.   Breakfast is often filled with laughter and shared information on their families, jobs, neighborhoods and the towns or cities where they live.

We have learned so much from our guests.   We have learned that cookies speak a universal language.   Everyone comes into the kitchen to get a cookie.   We always laugh when we come down in the morning and either the cookie jar is empty or one or two cookies are left in the jar.   (Nobody likes to take the last cookie).

When I ask if people like tomatoes or mushrooms, I always have one person out of eight that does not like those veggies.   We seem to have a vegetarian, a person who does not eat pork, a lacto intolerant person or a gluten intolerant person in every group. We just expect a variety of dietary restrictions.   It keeps life exciting for me and it really is not a big deal to make different eggs or oatmeal, etc.

I listen intently when recipes are shared.   We learned that combining orange juice and cranberry-raspberry juice makes a great breakfast drink.   Broiling a grapefruit slice with cinnamon and a little brown sugar is a special breakfast fruit.

One of the best things I have learned is that everyone has the same needs.   Everyone has a story.   It is so much fun when we can tap into a person’s passion and listen to their description of this interest.

When talking with our own friends, we have to be careful not to say “Oh, I had a guest who did this or said that.”   We realize that our friends have not had the wonderful experiences we have had with our guests, and we feel bad for them.

So … thanks to all our guests for making our life so fulfilled.


- Mary