{"id":925,"date":"2013-05-31T15:40:08","date_gmt":"2013-05-31T15:40:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kandynolesstevens.com\/?p=925"},"modified":"2013-05-31T15:40:08","modified_gmt":"2013-05-31T15:40:08","slug":"pidamaya-ye-medayto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/?p=925","title":{"rendered":"Pidamaya ye Medayto"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"photo<\/a>

photo from www.spicercastle.com<\/p><\/div>\n

Recently, my husband and I went away over night for our twentieth wedding anniversary.\u00a0 I wish that I could tell you it was a get-away that had been planned for a long time.\u00a0 We talked about doing something, but as the day approached we were up to our eyeballs in busy which explain much about how we live life. Our original plans to go camping were thwarted by the rains of recent days.\u00a0 Our thoughts for Plans B, C, or D trapped in the recesses of our minds while we dealt with day-to-day routines.<\/p>\n

The night before, we were researching options ranging from a trip to the city to a simple dinner out.\u00a0 Somehow, \u00a0we stumbled across a memory of the Spicer Castle Inn.\u00a0 Taking a chance, we placed a call to learn they did have available rooms.\u00a0 Perusing through the room choices, we delighted in what we saw \u2013 rustic charm \u2013 our kind of place.\u00a0 A quick glance at restaurant\u2019s menu confirmed we had found a retreat where we would be fed, watered, and rested.<\/p>\n

Upon arrival, my first thought was peace-filled. \u00a0Surrounded by trees on the shores of Green Lake, the inn was buzzing with the sounds of nature only.\u00a0 Gentle breezes swayed the trees.\u00a0 Barely audible water lapped at the shore.\u00a0 Bird song abounded. Walking in, we saw many family treasures as the inn is appointed with pieces from the Spicer and Latham families.\u00a0 The aroma and warmth from the hearth of the fireplace invited us to relax and remove the chill chasing us from the damp air.\u00a0 Two aptly placed chairs sat on the enclosed porch beckoned us to sit and reflect while having an incredible view to the lake.<\/p>\n

We settled into our room to wait for our dinner reservations.\u00a0 The first thing I noticed was silence. Complete and utter silence – save for the bird calls outside.<\/p>\n

The remainder of the trip was the most romantically tranquil experience.\u00a0 The food wonderful.\u00a0\u00a0 The stay serene.\u00a0 The breakfast delectable.<\/p>\n

As much as I enjoyed those things, the conversation with the grandson of the builder, who is now a great-grandfather himself was captivating.\u00a0 He reminded me so much of our mutually beloved college chemistry professor I wanted to collect all the moments in my bottle of memories and savor them always.\u00a0 The elder statesman had me spellbound with stories of his childhood, particularly his tales of being a mischievous lad.\u00a0 We later held private audience with the gentleman, and it was then we realized how desperately needed this respite. \u00a0Gentle souls interwoven in one sacred moment.<\/p>\n

A line from an old song played in my head:<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t know what you\u2019ve got until it\u2019s gone<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

This is exactly what I have been craving:\u00a0 the joy of unplugging and being caught in the moment.<\/p>\n

No agendas. No noise.\u00a0 No television. No computer. No children (and we seldom do that).\u00a0 No requests for our time or talents. \u00a0No interruptions.<\/p>\n

Divinely present.<\/b><\/p>\n

Much needed manna from heaven filled my soul as I was able to relish these moments with the love of my life.<\/p>\n

This retreat was God\u2019s gift of rejuvenation and relaxation – exactly the desires of our dreams.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

History lesson (Once a teacher always a teacher!):\u00a0 Spicer Castle Inn was not the original name of the property.\u00a0 Built by John Spicer, the retreat and farm was named Medayto Cottage for the Dakota name Medayto, representing Green Lake.\u00a0 After doing some research, I located the female version of Thank You (Pidamaya ye)\u00a0\u00a0in the Dakota language – a beautiful oral language handed down by generation to generation.\u00a0 I can only imagine the beauty the Dakota people found in the Green Lake\/Spicer area all those years ago.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recently, my husband and I went away over night for our twentieth wedding anniversary.\u00a0 I wish that I could tell you it was a get-away that had been planned for a long time.\u00a0 We talked about doing something, but as the day approached we were up to our eyeballs in busy which explain much about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[64,142,285,412,469,538,584,585,628],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/925"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=925"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/925\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}