I’m sure you can relate to a time in your life when you faced a tough decision.
Deciding to close the Little English Guesthouse Bed and Breakfast was a tough decision, but the time is right, so we’re taking down our shingle (signage) on September 29, 2024 and moving on to our next adventure.
I recall the day we hung that shingle – with a big British flag – to say ‘OPEN FOR BUSINESS, BABY!” Even though it was 21 years ago, it still resonates. I emailed every single person in my address book (because texting hadn’t been invented, would you believe?) and used lots of exclamation marks – such was our excitement!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Like that!)
The following day, our neighbor, a Vietnam vet, graciously voiced his opinion about our lack of an American flag. We hurriedly purchased, and raised, Old Glory (and apologized for my ignorance).
So many memories, so many stories. It’s been a marvelous 21 years!
In wrapping things up, it’s been natural to reflect on our beginnings. We opened the Little English Guesthouse to serve people who were on the road, visiting Tallahassee, and needed a place to rest for a while. And we have certainly served all sorts of people in the last 21 years, and absolutely enjoyed every single guest that stayed with us (well 99%, in all honesty!).
We’ve shared lots of laughter, and even a few tears.
For university parents, we’ve watched your child grow from nervous Freshman to confident college Graduate.
We’ve drunk tea with many a weary business traveler that called the Little English Guesthouse “home”.
We’ve hugged desperate people fleeing catastrophic hurricanes with their vehicles packed with whatever they could grab before leaving their homes.
We’ve housed missionaries on their way to far flung places on the globe…. Family members of hospice patients who stay a week or two, and then cry before checking out to make the long journey home without their loved ones in their lives anymore…. Mayors, county commissioners, local TV reporters and other folks headed to our Capitol to take care of political activities…. Honeymooners, second honeymooners and elderly folks celebrating 50 or 60 years of marriage… a lady (whom I shall call Goldilocks), who awoke me at midnight, then at 2 am because her first bed was too hard, her second bed was too soft, the third bed (by which time I’d run out of beds) was also not pleasing to her.
And let’s not forget the NASA rocket scientist who described himself as “just an engineer, working on jet propulsion issues” to another guest.
Most of our guests were just normal, working people. We loved getting to know them as they returned to us whenever they came to Tallahassee. There was David, a computer geek from Atlanta – he was a Messianic Jew and I’m a Christ-follower. He loved educating me on the history of Christianity…always a vibrant, lovely discussion when he checked in.
And then there was Roy, an engineer from Orlando. He was here 4 days a week for months on end, working on Tallahassee infrastructure. He worked at night and slept during the day. I always made sure to do the vacuuming once he’d left for work in the early evening. He was Iranian before he became an American, and loved to talk about his country of origin before the religious extremists overtook it. I learned a lot from those discussions.
And Dana and Andy – she sketched a beautiful portrait of our Freddy (she was a dog artist) just for fun. He was a veterinarian, and reminded me every time he stayed with us that Freddy needed to lose weight.
And football weekends! FSU Seminole fans and the opposing team – all in the breakfast room at the same time, oh joy, great joy!
So many lovely people stayed with us over the last 21 years. Some folks liked to talk, some wanted to be left alone. I learnt how to tell the difference in the early years, so as not to be intrusive and drag anyone down the tunnel of questions… or to be too busy and ignore the signs that they actually wanted to chat.
It was a delicate balancing act, and I was always thankful for the 15 years prior to opening our business that I spent in social services, honing those skills.
In the beginning…there was no internet and there were no online reviews – can you even imagine how far we’ve all come in 21 years? There were printed directories guests purchased at brick and mortar shops like Barnes & Noble. Small businesses had to pay a small fortune to purchase a listing in one of those books, and wait months for the next edition to be printed. And purchase more listings in the Yellow Pages to be found by Directory Assistance on a telephone. Do you remember those days?
Oh, yes, we love the internet!
And credit card machines – do you recall the click clack of running a credit card, with carbon copies and inky fingers? We used to burn the receipts in our wood burning stove out back, because “online theft” wasn’t a thing, but ACTUAL credit card theft was. Criminals would find carbon copies of credit card numbers in the rubbish bins. We wanted to protect our guests’ information, so we burned the receipts. Oh,my! We may have enlarged the ozone hole above the house with all that carbon.
We also lived in our house. The definition of a real bed and breakfast – the innkeeper lives on property. It was what kept so many of our guests coming back again and again, the relationship developed with business owners who actually cared about their comfortable stay, indeed, their personal lives.
While we were usually open for business for Christmas and other holidays, we made time to enjoy our home. We’d close up the shop to have dinner parties and family celebrations. We threw surprise parties to celebrate a 30th birthday and a 40th wedding anniversary.
We’d play croquet on the front lawn and celebrate Thanksgiving in the back garden. Along these 21 years, we helped raise grandchildren, buried 3 parents in distant places and said goodbye to our beloved dogs.
One guest, a businesswoman from South Florida, once told me the ONLY reason she kept returning to the Little English Guesthouse was Sadie, our Golden Retriever. (If you’re reading this, Linda, I forgive you!) LOL
While we’ve enjoyed these 21 years, and are so very grateful to God that we’ve managed to weather the storms of recessions, pandemic, political upheaval and all the things that threaten the life of a small business, it’s time.
It’s time to close up the shop, slow down a bit (anything other than the 24/7 life of an innkeeper will seem slower!) and find a new adventure.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for supporting our Little business these last 21 years. We hope you’ve enjoyed us, as much as we’ve enjoyed you!
We’re leaving our Facebook page active for a while, we’d love to read your memories or stories about your stay at the Little English Guesthouse, if you have a moment.
Goodbye, and God bless!
