Memories of Guests that touched your heart.

[Copperhead]

I was inspired by a couple of recent posts: one by an aspiring poster and another by a seasoned innkeeper. The aspiring poster questioned the fact that most of the posts were on the negative side of the inkeeping experiences. The second post was commenting on a wonderful guest.
While you are doing some of those countless tasks innkeepers do, think back to all those guests that have passed through your doors. As we all usually vent here, there are some that just get your goat. Then there are others that have touched your heart. They are the ones that you think of when you say to yourself "Why am I doing this?"
Take a moment to share those memories with the others here.

 

[Samster]

I've had several parents who have thanked me for the time they spent here together before their child might be sent in harm's way.
Several reunions of folks that had been separated for long stretches of time while one of them was in harm's way & they were able to relax & re-connect here.
These are my favorite stories

 

[Copperhead]

Not long after opening our B&B we received a request for 2 rooms for a 4-night stay. The father and son were coming to the area where the father had worked some 40+ years earlier when the son was a mere child. As it turned out, the two were celebrating the father’s 80th Birthday by retracing the River Lock System. The father had been the Core of Engineers Design Engineer for the Lock System and was the supervisor in charge those many years prior when the Lock system was built.
Each morning after breakfast, I packed them a little lunch and they traveled by boat to a different area of the river and the father shared his stories of how each lock was built and the people of the area. And each evening they came back and shared tidbits of their day with us and we could tell how much each had enjoyed the experience and bonded even more. The son kept in touch with us from time to time and passed on the word when the father passed away. The son said that they spoke many of times of the trip to the River and it was forever embedded in his memories. Ours too!

 

[user 26]

Not long after opening our B&B we received a request for 2 rooms for a 4-night stay. The father and son were coming to the area where the father had worked some 40+ years earlier when the son was a mere child. As it turned out, the two were celebrating the father’s 80th Birthday by retracing the River Lock System. The father had been the Core of Engineers Design Engineer for the Lock System and was the supervisor in charge those many years prior when the Lock system was built.
Each morning after breakfast, I packed them a little lunch and they traveled by boat to a different area of the river and the father shared his stories of how each lock was built and the people of the area. And each evening they came back and shared tidbits of their day with us and we could tell how much each had enjoyed the experience and bonded even more. The son kept in touch with us from time to time and passed on the word when the father passed away. The son said that they spoke many of times of the trip to the River and it was forever embedded in his memories. Ours too!.

three times i have had guests who seemed cold, stand-offish or aloof -
last year, two women, one man --
each travelling alone -- at different times
something about them struck a chord. a familiar something ... a haunted, sad, almost angry look in their eyes, like the world had betrayed them.
i found a way to speak one on one with each of them ... quietly ... gently ... discovered that each had been widowed.
as soon as i said, 'i understand, i am a widow, too' there was a release
each cried and told me what happened. yes, the man cried, too. i was able to listen ... and yes i did cry with them ... but it was okay. and as each one checked out they thanked me for just listening. it's hard to explain.
well ...
the other day, the man stopped in to say hello and see how i am doing. he had tried to book a room online, saw that the place was full, but drove all this way out on the edge of the peninsula just to visit. i was really touched by that. wish i'd known he was coming! arms full of laundry, etc. so sweet.

 

[trishany]

What a great post.
We've had guests here that have an uncanny tie to us ( I won't get into it)
I know, now, it's a very, very small world.
I think we are WHERE we are supposed to be at this time in our lives. Everything about this B&B just comes so easy to us. We work side by side and it's so wonderful.
We've been through alot -- I mean alot!
But the Good Lord above, said "give these two people a break".
And here we are -- with a beautiful house, a thriving B&B, and meeting the most nicest people in the world.

 

[Sunshine]

What a great post.
We've had guests here that have an uncanny tie to us ( I won't get into it)
I know, now, it's a very, very small world.
I think we are WHERE we are supposed to be at this time in our lives. Everything about this B&B just comes so easy to us. We work side by side and it's so wonderful.
We've been through alot -- I mean alot!
But the Good Lord above, said "give these two people a break".
And here we are -- with a beautiful house, a thriving B&B, and meeting the most nicest people in the world..

Trishany, This is exactly how we feel.
We haven't been doing the B&B thing long, but I think my favorite guests so far is the older retired couple that came and we sat on the front porch swing looking at the pictures she brought along of her home, and famiy and grandchildren; as she told stories of each one and he chimed in and added to each story. . . it was so sweet.

 

[trishany]

What a great post.
We've had guests here that have an uncanny tie to us ( I won't get into it)
I know, now, it's a very, very small world.
I think we are WHERE we are supposed to be at this time in our lives. Everything about this B&B just comes so easy to us. We work side by side and it's so wonderful.
We've been through alot -- I mean alot!
But the Good Lord above, said "give these two people a break".
And here we are -- with a beautiful house, a thriving B&B, and meeting the most nicest people in the world..

Trishany, This is exactly how we feel.
We haven't been doing the B&B thing long, but I think my favorite guests so far is the older retired couple that came and we sat on the front porch swing looking at the pictures she brought along of her home, and famiy and grandchildren; as she told stories of each one and he chimed in and added to each story. . . it was so sweet.
.

I know. I just love the older retired couples. They have the greatest stories.

 

[adabweeks]

I have been so very fortunate! I have met so many wonderful people from all over the world, all walks of life, different cultures and beliefs and everyone who has stayed here has left a lasting imprint on me in some special way. This has been the most rewarding thing I have done in my life.
Last weekend I had a retired couple, a family of four, and 2 men bicycling across Prince Edward Island who simply just ran out of steam and walked in. They all had a wonderful breakfast together, laughing and telling stories of their lives and experiences. All so different, but each savouring the moment, the connection they all shared. And me in the kitchen cooking their breakfast smiling to myself, listening to them truly enjoying themselves. What better reward in life then to give people a moment of joy.
All the people who have stayed here have been extremely pleasant. I have been truly blessed!
AdaBWeeks

 

[gillumhouse]

I think of 2 couples - different visits.
The first one had received a certificate - I think it was one donated to Public Radio - and while DH & the husband talked in the dining room, the wife and I chatted in the Library. She told me their youngest daughter had been killed in an accident coming home for Christmas and she could not bear to even hear carols now. At the same time she was lamenting that her grandchildren were not being brought up in the church as much as she would have liked. The next morning I had a temp job and was compelled to write her a note in which I said how could she expect her grandchildren to be brought up in the church when she could not bear to celebrate the most joyous church holiday and that I hoped she would be ready soon to celebrate her daughter in their lives, although briefly rather than grieve for the loss. I asked her to, if she wanted, to take a CD from my gift shop as a gift from me that was our band's Chistmas Concert so she would have it when she was ready to listen again. She took the CD.
The second was a repeat guest who was telling me she had had a horrible winter. She was visibly upset when thinking about it so I said nothing more about that until in the conversation she mentioned that she had had polio when she was 6 but had totally recovered and had taken dancing.... I then asked what had been happening over the winter and she told me (she had been told, even by her husband that it was all in her head). We were able to tell her she was not losing it. From what she said, she has post-polio as all her symptoms point to it (DH has it too). Go ask her doctor about it! It was as if the world had been lifted from her shoulders. Even her husband looked relieved - they now had a name for what had been happening.
We feel both of these guests were meant to come here. Just as was the guest who told US about post-polio and gave us the title of the book about it. She was also meant to come here to tell us why DH was having problems.

 

[YellowSocks]

We're still pretty new... lots of wonderful people... several of really, really grateful moms who were glad to find a family friendly place. I guess as far as touching I would say the lady who called last minute on her way here for a funeral, which was the same weekend as this year's blizzard. It was really wonderful to be able to be an oasis of warmth and hospitality during a rough time in her family's life.
=)
Kk.

 

[Morticia]

The guests that touch my heart are the ones that feel comfortable enough to return time and again and who share with us WHY they are not returning. We have some fairly older guests and they're being hit with cancers and other life-threatening diseases. It's good to know where they are and how things are progressing. And it's good to see them back again after their treatments.
A lot of them remark that the first trip they take when they're 'back on the road' is to come here.
The guests who consider us their 'Maine' home are another group.
We also had one 7 yo girl here a few years ago who was a brand-new adoptee. She has a special place in my heart.

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

Too many to count.
1) He was in Afghanistan (fighter pilot). It was their 10 year anniv and she had not seen him for 4 months. They renewed their vows at our nearby lake - he would not see her UNTIL she walked down the aisle after 4months apart.
Meanwhile, he would ALSO not see or meet his brand new son whom they adopted while he was away until after the ceremony. (Finalized while he was gone). They spent the evening here.
Sometimes we do not share these on the forum as they are very personal. Sometimes we don't want to appear to be boasting. Sometimes they are just for us, a Godsend.
I have dozens upon dozens of stories over the past 4 1/2 years.

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

They were in their late 80's when I met them. 2nd marriage for both. Her first husband was a pilot in the airforce and had been in all the wars.
His first wife was a mssionary alongside him in Germany. They were in Germany teaching a vacation Bible school when the wall went up and the majority of the kids did not return the next day.
Both had outlived their spouses. A friend introduced them and they met up at the Symphony on Valentine's day. They did this three years in a row, once a year on the same date of the same month - always on Valentine's Day. The 4th year he said to her "You know we aren't getting any younger, if we are going to keep this up we might never get married, will you marry me?"
As you know the wall came down in Germany, and she (new bride) joined him many many years later - as he went back to the place he and his first wife workde as missionaries.
They got married on Valentine's day just like they had dated. I had a gift certificate here that was never redeemed, and it was for them. Finally I called. They hesitated and said, Oh, alright then. (?)
I did not undertsand. Why was I forcing this couple to stay with us?
Well - long and short of it, her brother gave it to them as a wedding gift. He died right before the wedding. They didn't know what to do with it. They finally redeemed it. I AM SO GLAD THEY DID!
Just so happened our friend who smuggles Bibles into interior China, has been on mission trips to Sudan, Sierra Leone, Morocco was here at the time. They sat at the table for hours and hours and talked.
I took a photo of them on the porch and said "Come on give her a kiss!" and she blushed and it was the best photo! I printed it out and mailed it to them. They only live 20 minutes from here.
Now, innkeepers, I do not know if they are still alive or not. I have thought of sending them an anniversary card. But decided not to. They were a beautiful people.

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

Wedding nights.
Anniversaries.
Special occasions.

 

[YellowSocks]

They were in their late 80's when I met them. 2nd marriage for both. Her first husband was a pilot in the airforce and had been in all the wars.
His first wife was a mssionary alongside him in Germany. They were in Germany teaching a vacation Bible school when the wall went up and the majority of the kids did not return the next day.
Both had outlived their spouses. A friend introduced them and they met up at the Symphony on Valentine's day. They did this three years in a row, once a year on the same date of the same month - always on Valentine's Day. The 4th year he said to her "You know we aren't getting any younger, if we are going to keep this up we might never get married, will you marry me?"
As you know the wall came down in Germany, and she (new bride) joined him many many years later - as he went back to the place he and his first wife workde as missionaries.
They got married on Valentine's day just like they had dated. I had a gift certificate here that was never redeemed, and it was for them. Finally I called. They hesitated and said, Oh, alright then. (?)
I did not undertsand. Why was I forcing this couple to stay with us?
Well - long and short of it, her brother gave it to them as a wedding gift. He died right before the wedding. They didn't know what to do with it. They finally redeemed it. I AM SO GLAD THEY DID!
Just so happened our friend who smuggles Bibles into interior China, has been on mission trips to Sudan, Sierra Leone, Morocco was here at the time. They sat at the table for hours and hours and talked.
I took a photo of them on the porch and said "Come on give her a kiss!" and she blushed and it was the best photo! I printed it out and mailed it to them. They only live 20 minutes from here.
Now, innkeepers, I do not know if they are still alive or not. I have thought of sending them an anniversary card. But decided not to. They were a beautiful people..

Wow!
=)
Kk.

 

[Samster]

Wedding nights.
Anniversaries.
Special occasions..

We had a couple re-unite here after he had been in Iraq for a year. It was his third tour. They have 3 kids. He was sooooooooooo sick when he was here, picked up a bug on the long trip home. A friend called & wanted to book them a room again before they got their permanent change of station. She will be deployed in October, too. I was so disappointed that we were on vacation for the date they had to have. They are a neat couple & both are serving our country. I sent them a good luck card.

 

[gillumhouse]

I have an update on the second one I talked about. In today's mail was a thank you card from them! She sounded on top of the world! She is now seeing a doctor in Cleveland who specializes in post-polio, not the neurolgist she had been seeing, they bought the book we recommended and said it answered sooo many questions. She now has a support group of 2 others in her area with the same problem. She is learning to live with it, since it will never go away. She has gone from depressed and withdrawn, back to her bubbly self!