Sometimes if they don’t get a chance to meet her during a short stay, guests will ask “where’s Stephanie?”. I will often joke about how hard I make my “sugar mama” work. I may say something like, “Someone has to earn the health insurance for the family,” or, “We certainly don’t want to let grass grow under her feet.” It’s a joke because those who know Steph know she’s always on the go—about as busy as anyone I know. And it’s true now more than ever.
The term “back to school” has new significance around The Kalamazoo House this fall, as Stephanie has decided to continue her nursing education and matriculate toward Nurse Practitioner credentials over the next two years. She currently holds a Bachelor’s degree in nursing.
Stephanie has always had a full time job on top of her work at the inn. She’s been managing a nursing staff of over twenty five people at the West Michigan Cancer Center, located just a couple blocks away from the inn. She’s also a full-time mother (one daughter remains in high school, while the other three of our blended crew are in, or out of, college), and she has helped coach and look after a couple ill family members for many months now. Even so, she felt the time was right to move out of administration and management, and get back to her passions for clinical work, and the NP track seems a logical move and fit.
We still get Steph out to see her favorite local classic rock band: “Love Howell”–with our own Garrett Meyers on percussion (4th Saturdays at Shakespeare’s Pub)
Still, even if you don’t see her during each visit to the inn, Stephanie’s fingerprints are everywhere around the inn—the touches people rave about, the fresh flowers, the casual elegance—and she can usually be found serving breakfasts on weekends, or working behind the scenes throughout the week.
Steve and his son Alex enjoy the band Saturday
We know she’s better to look at than Garrett and I are; but then again, it was always the plan that we would be the full-time anchors of daily operations. The great news is that we also have a small-but-diligent staff, and together with Stephanie our team works very hard to ensure you have a great, clean, relaxing, and enjoyable stay—with an amazing hot breakfast to kick off your day. And we still find time for our own fun; we get Stephanie out for brews and to hear one of her favorite bands at least on the last Saturday of each month—such as in this photo from Saturday. It just so happens that is Garrett on the far left, with Lovey Howell, playing some of the best classic rock you can ever imagine being played in a city of this size.
So we’ll end this update with just a reminder that if you want to support our kids’ education, and Stephanie’s too, and have a great time with all the shows, live theatre, live music, dining and night life in Kalamazoo—all within walking distance … we hope to see you back at the inn soon! All our best to you and yours,
Steve
