Giving Thanks

I wrote two blogs in 2008 and 2009 about running a guesthouse and how important the guests were to me. Here is an edited version of the two posts:

2008: As Thanksgiving approaches and we all take time to reflect and give thanks, I want to formally thank all the guests who have come to TJ Ranch.Living on a farm in the boondocks has its limitations in that we don't get away much to "see the world"; but the most important aspect of the world, its people, have come to us.

Over the last eight years we have met people from all over the world. In many instances the line between "guests" and "friends" have blurred and become one, which really isn't a problem except that we feel bad when we have to charge... but back to the point at hand.

• Ron and Evelyn, I must mention by name... our first guests who mailed us a deposit for their full stay and have been my technical gurus to follow til death do us part.

• A diabetes' educator came on vacation and when I mentioned Tony's "borderline" condition she sent us a care package with meters, booklets, creams and ointments...the care packages keep coming and so does she. Thank you Wilma.

• Maybe it was just luck that a nurse and a fireman were here when the gas stove blew up in Tony's face, but we thank them for the cold water response and the care packages that followed. We also learned to search for wi-fi cruising the streets of Arecibo in their rental car.

• The two veterinarians came separately that Christmas when our cat had infected

  stitches. Both vets opened our eyes to the variety of jobs veterinarians do: from traveling with the CDC to cancer research in John's Hopkins' lab. Thank you vets.

• ur sun-dial is set to Wisconsin, the home of our other guests/friends.

• We were sent a beautiful CD/DVD from Germany of TJ Ranch and Arecibo. We hope to see Emilio and Susi in 2010 when they return to Puerto Rico.

• We never heard of the Isle of Man nor Estonia (shame on us) before guests came from those faraway places. T

• he Estonians took us all over the world from their laptop....and the Israelis wanted to hook up the kids for a free trip to Israel based on their lineage.

• Thanks go to Heather for leaving her copy of Breaking Dawn for Tina (and then for me) saving us a trip to Borders in San Juan.

• We can never forget our birdwatchers from Cape Cod and DC who have opened our eyes (and ears)to our co-inhabitants of the farm.

• Thanks to our native american trooper/governor security force from Connecticut and now we know that the Friday after Thanksgiving is Native American Heritage Day. She keeps us up to date on the "real world" and politics...and is another guest who has crossed over from guest to friend.

  
  

  For all those I haven't mentioned, please don't feel ignored or forgotten. You've made TJ Ranch a very special place for us and we'll be thinking of you 

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2009: I’ve lived twenty-five years in the “boondocks” of Arecibo. The first four years were spent in a physical quest planting our farm, tiling the house and making a life in my jungle home. Then came children and I spent the next eighteen years shuttling the kids up and down the hill or if not physically taking them around then mentally focusing on their well being.

But things are different now.

Our youngest is driving and independent. So here I am…spending more time at home with never ending chores to occupy my body, but what of my mind? The guests at TJ Ranch have been my life line to the outside world. I hear about things going on and meet people I probably would never have met, even living in a metropolitan area.

How would I have known about “Green Gas” if I hadn’t met Efrain? Please check out his website at www.greengasllc ....it’s important stuff. Or where would I have met Allison, the Mormon mother of seven, traveling with her eldest son for a week before going back to Augusta to home school her brood. Hey, Rick..thanks for telling me about your father’s 40 acre almond farm and the “shaker” which shakes the trees to harvest the almonds. How come they haven’t tried something like that for coffee? Daniel, the Frenchman who studied in Spain…oolala what an accent! Thanks for fixing our telescope…guess aeronautic engineering has some hands on applications. I just wrote to Steve, the firefighter from Arizona, to see if he went to California to fight this year’s fires…not this year wrote his wife, Nikki…although he’d like to… Don’t let me forget the Boricuas, traveling from other parts of the island. The trip for Carlos and Waleska from Naguabo probably took as long as a flight from Florida to come see us. They had a relaxing weekend celebrating his recent return from Honduras. And good luck to Clarys who needs to make some hard decisions in order to deal with her debilitating lupus condition. I hope the days at TJ Ranch gave her the rest and fortitude to persevere.

And so…keep on coming TJ Ranch guests. Not only do we need you to survive economically, but I need you in order not to go brain dead. Each of you is truly unique and has made my life in the mountains as rich and diverse as that of any city dweller.