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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Hotel/Motel (09/12/05)
Mid- afternoon on Christmas Day 2004 was different, almost weird. We were staying at the Hampton Inn Motel. After a quiet breakfast, without the loud festivities of our own home on Christmas morning, we began to get ready for dinner at the home of our son and his family.
Surely we were grateful for the family arrangements obtained by our daughter-in-law that allowed us to stay at the motel, but it just wasn’t home.
Actually upon entering the motel room I wished I had packed some garland to throw over the pastel prints of wildflowers and spring fields hanging on the walls.
But it would soon seem like Christmas again once we arrived at our son’s house.
As I waited for the elevator to embark on our family visit, a gentleman complimented my earrings as celebratory for the season. I thanked him for the kind word and asked if it seemed unusually quite in the motel. He responded yes because it was his opinion that staying in a motel for Christmas was odd. The friendly guest continued, "My wife and I took her parents out of the convalescence home and gave them a weekend at this motel in the honeymoon suite. They have been married sixty-years and are still honeymooners," he said.
Going down the elevator he proceeded to say how he called the relatives living in the area and asked them to observe Christmas at the Hampton Inn.
"Since the motel isn’t busy on Christmas Day they gave us full use of the dining section in the lobby," he said.
The doors opened to the couple alone in their wheel chairs waiting for their family and friends to arrive. A Christmas tree twinkled as a reminder of the day.
I left the motel with my husband and son looking forward to the high spirits of grandchildren on Christmas.
Upon our return, I immediately noticed the contrast of the dining room from earlier in the day. Now a room full of adults and children surrounded the elderly couple. The tree lights were as bright as the chatter.
When we entered our room, my husband informed me that he was going to bed. I was not ready for the quiet and the room seemed bare. Why didn’t I bring some garland? I grabbed my crochet bag and headed for the motel lobby. My plan was to sit opposite the dining room and soak up the noise of happy conversation around the couple celebrating Christmas in a motel.
As the elevator doors opened, the stark emptiness made me think I had imagined the full room of people present a few minutes ago. Only a few remained saying good-bye to each other. No doubt the elderly honeymooners were anxious for some quite time and sleep in own their room instead of a convalescent home.
I sat by the fireplace thinking of our daughter, and her family, our younger son and his wife. Christmases change when the children leave home and start their own lives.
Travelers began returning from the day some with reservations and others looking for a room.
"Do you have any rooms," a couple asked?
The clerk said they had plenty of rooms at the Inn.
I looked up again to find the shift had changed and now the 11:00pm clerk had arrived.
She looked at me and I saw exhaustion in her face.
" I just spent Christmas Day with my family in New Jersey after working all night Christmas Eve. I haven’t slept and my co-worker isn’t here. I’m afraid I’ll fall asleep if I have to work alone," she said.
Shortly thereafter the phone rang. The co-worker was running late but she would soon arrive.
I returned to my room with grateful words from the young clerk for helping her stay alert with discussion intermittent with my reflections.
"What did the elderly couple, the night clerk, and my family have in common with the infant savior who spent his first night on earth in a cave because there was no room at the Inn?"
In a motel at Christmas we found a place to rest and be with the people we love; just as Jesus did in the arms of Mary and Joseph in his first home.
I learned that "home is where the heart is" because God is love; and He sent his Son so that we may have an eternal home with Him.
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Member Comments
Member
Date
Jan Ackerson
09/20/05
A sweet holiday story. Put spaces between paragraphs to make it easier to read.
M'Kayla Kelly
09/22/05
This is good, but what happened on Christmas day? The story was building in anticipation of seeing family, grandkids, etc., but it was totally left out. Upon returning to the room the husband went to bed. Why? Was he tired from all the excitement of the day or was he disappointed and depressed? These are things I must know. :) Keep writing!
Deborah Porter 
09/27/05
Sharon, I just wanted to stop by and encourage you. This was a nice story, with warm thoughts and was a good take on the topic. Just keep an eye out for your punctuation, which is missing in places. There were also a few typos - things like "quite" for "quiet." Also, transposed words like "in own their room." Also, like M'kayla commented, the ending didn't quite round everything up as well as it could have. But keep writing and honing your skill - the warmth in this entry was lovely and the more you write, the more this warmth will be able to impact your readers. With love, Deb (Challenge Coordinator)