For those of you who followed my blog in Connecticut, The Belle of Bevin House, and have been wondering what the heck happened, I'll tell you: A LOT. Read the last post on that blog for the gyst of it, including the terrible awfulness and hidden blessings of 2020. As for this job, it started with an ad I saw on bbteam.com--the site I found my last 2 innkeeping jobs at. Usually I'm up for anything, but I'd been looking for something closer to my boyfriend's daughter in PA, and so this one in Maryland caught my eye: Inn Boonsboro seeking Resident Innkeeper. The Inn is owned by the famous author Nora Roberts, who I'd never read, but I knew she was kind of a big deal.
The Inn looked pretty fancy, and to be honest I wasn't sure if I was up for it after the terrible awfulness of 2020, but before I knew it, I'd had a lovely phone interview, and then a pleasant skype interview, and then I was driving up for the weekend to get a tour and meet the managers of the other businesses. I'd read the Trilogy (set at the Inn) in preparation and tried to imagine life there.
I went through a few anxious moments of feeling in way over my head, but each of those moments quickly passed whenever I was around the other staff. The manager, Karen is pretty much the coolest, and sets the tone for the whole place. Each new person I met was unique, and yet they all blended well together. It was a bit surreal at times, and more socializing than I'd had in a really long time.
Nora owns several other businesses nearby--a gym, a gift store (which just happens to sell some glassware by Ron Hinkle--my boyfriend's father), and a bookstore (which is basically my version of heaven).
I stayed in the Titania & Oberon Room, inspired by Shakespeare's A Midsummer Nights' Dream, which felt absolutely decadent.
We went over some details the next morning, and I left feeling really good about it. But I didn't know how many other applicants they'd be interviewing, so I tried not to get my hopes up. Luckily, I didn't have to wait long before hearing back and I was officially offered the job! I spent the next few weeks packing and preparing to move (yet again) to a new state. Things were made a little more complicated now that I was bringing a man with me. But luckily our lease was almost up on the apartment and we had some savings. Also, because the job was a resident position, it included an apartment, so that was one less thing to figure out.
Danny and I wanted to start this opportunity fresh, so the night before I moved, in truly dramatic Meg & Dan style, we made a bonfire, wrote down all of the terrible awful things that had happened in 2020, and burned them in effigy. But we also took a moment with each one to say something positive that came out of that particular challenge. The smoke somehow poisoned me and I felt like garbage the next day, but it was still a memorable event.
Then the next day we were loading up the moving van and heading to Boonsboro. This probably sounds dumb, but I am 36 and this was my first time renting a moving van. It felt very adult-y.
I spent 2 days unpacking and then started work. The first few days were a lot of observing and Q&A. It was all pretty familiar, since I've been innkeeping for 8 years now, but each inn is different and there are lots of little details to absorb in the beginning. I spent a lot of time nesting, and now that I've been here a month, the apartment is pretty personalized and cozy...
I'm trying to get back into the habit of writing, so setting up my desk (and my prized book collection) was a top priority.
"Nesting" is always one of my favorite things about moving to a new place, so I've really enjoyed the process. In the beginning Danny visited as often as he could, but pretty quickly he found a job as well. He just finished the 2-week training, and begins officially tomorrow! We've had some stressful moments the last few weeks as we adjust, but the way things came together here was such a blessing.
We've already done a bit of exploring, and I am feeling a renewed sense of wonder at the world around me. Whether it's delicious food, a beautiful flower, a good book, a pretty song, a flickering candle, a sudden spring shower--I'm honing in and collecting those moments, the way I did in CT, when I was so happy I thought my heart would burst.
I feel more delicate these days, fragile. But spring is here, and I think that with a thawing of the land, there will also be a thawing in my heart--a broadening of my mind, a stretching of my ambitions. I have no idea what the year ahead will hold, but I'm looking forward with hope.
