How it all came about...

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.