Laura Ellison

It would be a normal assumption to think that when visiting your aunt and uncle and their Bed and Breakfast overlooking the harbor on Bald Head Island, NC, that you would have a fun vacation and maybe even receive special benefits. In the summer of 2010, I was proven wrong. The trip began as a relaxing escape from home with my brother, sister, and best friend Jennifer. As a nice gesture, we volunteered to help clean rooms since everything was being provided to us for free. Aunt Julie took us up on that offer and before we could realize what had happened, we had been turned into the maids for the week. By room 3 of the 15 (that had all just been used the previous weekend for an entire wedding party) my sister, Jennifer, and I had developed a system for cleaning the rooms at maximum effiiciency. My sister cleaned the bathrooms, Jennifer stripped the beds and dusted, and I vacuumed and mopped all of the floors, the most labor-intensive job in my opinion. We even found ourselves waking up extremely early to set out the continental breakfast for the guests. At first it seemed kind of fun, almost like playing house when I was five. We even make-shifted our own uniforms. Though as the days went by and the work never seemed to be over, we wondered if we would ever get to see the beach.

Looking back on the experience now, I am grateful. It was hard work but it was worth it. We did eventually get to the beach and had a great vacation, but I also learned a few things that summer. I am definitely much more skilled with a vacuum now, I understand how a Bed and Breakfast is run, and I have much more respect for my aunt and uncle. At the time it seemed like a nightmare, but now I would not trade the experience for anything.