Diary of an Innkeeper

When George suggested we host Thanksgiving for his family this year, I thought, "Really? No, we can't do it. It's so many people, for so many days." I was nervous, I'll admit. Living 4 hours away from family, hosting a dinner party is a little different than hosting it 20 minutes away from family. Everyone stays. For days.

I broke down and said, "Ok, I can do this." Arrival started Wednesday afternoon. There was Mom and Dad, and Aunt and Friends. Next day, Cousins, and Brothers and their families. All totaled, 21 people arrived. Luckily, we have a guest house, so we were able to house everyone. It was gonna be great. Or so I thought...

Owning the inn, I thought, "How hard can this be? We're used to serving breakfast to many people everyday. We can do this". And it went off without a hitch. Everything turned out perfect. The kids played. The adults bonded. It was better than I ever thought it could be. I was relaxed and had a wonderful time with everyone!!

It was a picturesque several days. Friday evening Santa arrived by horse drawn wagon in Cooperstown. It was beautiful. The kids loved it. It couldn't have been better.

Until.... It hit. One of the kids had arrived with a tiny...... lingering...... STOMACH VIRUS!!! Noooooooooooo!

Late Friday evening, the first round of vomiting. My two sister-in-laws at the same time sharing the same top floor apartment with only one bathroom in the guest house. Picture a slapstick version of The Exorcist. Where a vomiting Linda Blair falls into (literally) a second vomiting Linda Blair right around the kitchen corner. Let's just say... It wasn't pretty. Next, my mother-in-law. As I write this, she is still at the hospital with George. Dr. says she's going to be fine. But, at one point, I actually heard the words, "I think I'm dying." Then I got the phone call that George's cousin was hit with it after he got home.

Wait, it was all so beautiful only 24 hours ago! With everyone gone now, I've started the sterilization process. Masked, gloved and praying. Hopefully there won't be any more victims. We'll know in 48 hours if everyone else is safe. Although with all the sickness, it was still almost perfect. Even my sister-in-law, Glynis, shaking and feverish when she left, texted us to say how wonderful the holiday was. This Thanksgiving I am thankful for our family and friends! And I am thankful that no one died on my first-ever hosting of Thanksgiving. It will definitely be.. a holiday to remember.

As another season comes to an end, I can't decide if I am relieved or disappointed. After 6 months of innkeeping, it is nice to be able to sleep a little later and talk a little less. Last weekend, we had a couple of rooms of guests (now friends) that come every year for our last weekend. It was wonderful to see and spend time with them again. On Halloween Eve, we all went to the Farmers Museum for their "Things That Go Bump In The Night" Evening. A walking ghost tour, but scary - well, not so much. My son kept hoping/praying for something to jump out (and wake him up). More of a historical walk with a couple of (sort of) scary stories. Still it was a wonderful way to end our last weekend.

As George made his last waffle of the year (for himself I might add), we debated on whether or not to bring home the waffle maker for our own home use while we are closed. "No, I'm sick of waffles!" "But we can use them on Thanksgiving when the family comes up to visit." "Ok, as long as I don't have to eat another one of them until next May." Not that they're not good. They're delicious. If you haven't already had about 173 of them in the past 6 months.

So after everyone left, it was time to start the packing/cleaning and loading of the car. Along with bringing in all the outdoor furniture, George and Aidan tackled putting away the 697 cute things that I have bought over the years to put around the gardens/meadows/decks. It's sort of like an Easter egg hunt. Looking around for all the things that we so carefully placed in April.




At least the snow has held out. Nothing worse than looking for a little ceramic rabbit under a blanket of snow. Well the snow sort of held out. All of a sudden it started to come down 1/2 way through our packing phase. Pretty hard too. Aidan yelled for me to look outside. It looked like a storm and then 2 minutes later the sun came out as bright as, well, as bright as the sun. Beautiful.




Saturday was our first weekend home in 6 months. I slept until 10. It felt amazing. And Sunday, like a gift from God was Daylight Savings Time. An extra hour of sleep. I slept even later. I have to stock up. Springtime will be back before you know it. But for now, I'll be sleeping late on weekends and staying up late (just because I can!). And already missing our guests! But May, although 6 months away, will feel as if it is here in no time. Just as the past 6 months flew by (and the past 6 years of owning our inn)! Time does fly by when you're having fun :)!