I’ll admit it. I’m a princess. I think my little foray to a local historic hotel for a weekend of indoor camping proves that. I have stayed in some pretty fine hotels around the country, most notably in Aspen. But I have to tell you, I have never been treated better than I was at the Blennerhassett Hotel this weekend. I walked in, literally dragging my suitcase and briefcase, getting stuck in the door on my way in. From the moment they set eyes on me to the moment they placed that same briefcase carefully in my truck at checkout, I was literally treated like royalty. The room I was given was perfectly lovely. A king bed with a hundred pillows and crisp white sheets was a welcome respite. The tub was the perfect size for soaking my so sad and weary bones after the deep freeze of the last couple of weeks. The only thing that was somewhat bothersome was a couple of dogs in a room down the hall. They did create quite a ruckus when their people went out, which seemed to be quite a lot. When I went down for my morning coffee Saturday, I mentioned this to the front desk clerk and she said she would see about it. I went back to my room to write and by 11:00, the barking had not let up. I called down to the front desk and asked if it was at all possible to be moved. There were no questions asked. They immediately moved me to a lovely room, a bit bigger, on the floor above. The bellman had no sooner left till I looked into the bathroom, and…..no tub! Noooooo! The whole purpose of this exercise was to soak in the tub…as long as possible. I called down and told the clerk I really didn’t want to be THAT guest and pointed out the lack of a tub. She remembered me telling her how important that was at check in and immediately set to finding me the perfect room. And she did…wow! I have lived in apartments that were smaller than this room! On top of that, I was given a small box of Holl’s chocolates “for my trouble”. Are you kidding??? I felt like a member of the family. Thank you so much, Dorinda and the rest of the staff. Honestly, I couldn’t have been happier with my stay and look forward to seeing you all again, even if it’s just for coffee or lunch.

I have learned a lot on this grief journey. First, you must speak your needs, clearly and without fear. If something is not right, no one is going to rescue you and fix it. Second…you need to treat yourself once in awhile. When you are nearing the end of your rope, make a phone call…for a massage, for a dinner reservation, for a date with a friend, or…if you really need to pull out the big guns, for a room at a hotel for a night or two. I didn’t break the bank here. This is a slow time of year for hotels and they are all too happy to fill their rooms and don’t mind giving you a reasonable discount. All it takes is a pleasant demeanor…and maybe a note of crazed cabin fever in your voice…and you can have a huge vacation crammed into 48 hours of bubble baths and chocolate. Be good to yourself…you NEED it.

❤

“Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings”

Psalm 17:8 NIV