Storm Shanty
The day came when my dad passed the torch of a business owner to my older sister and her husband who were going to run the show and let him enter a new phase in life:
Retirement.
That word that is both scary and exciting.
And not just for the retiree! But for the retiree spouses, such as my mother.
My mother, Barbara Galehouse was a Registered Nurse who hung up her white cap when she and my father started their family. My mom raised us four kids and ran the house with all her energy and love that made our home the happiest home in the world! Until…
Retirement.
I remember those first few weeks of my mother having my father around ALL. DAY. LONG. I remember because I (as well as my two sisters and brother) was getting endless phone calls from my mom telling on my dad and complaining about what he was doing and what he should be doing and what he should never do again!
Trouble in paradise!
My siblings and I quickly got together for a little pow wow. We really knew a storm was brewing when our wonderful father got on a first name basis with the UPS driver. Talk about messing with mom’s world! We needed to take drastic measures to get dad out of the kitchen, off the phone and away of infomercials! So, our plan became this:
Shop.
As in workshop. Keep dad as busy as we could in his workshop making us furniture and knick-knacks that would completely fill two bills. First, he would be out of mom’s hair and she wouldn’t have to figure out where to store all of the “free” knives that kept getting delivered to her door. And second, we would get some incredibly beautiful furniture made by our wonderful father that would last a lifetime! A win-win for everyone. And it worked like a charm! Our father is going to be 82 this year and we can’t keep him out of his workshop for anything. It is hard to get him to take trips that last longer than a couple of days because he can’t stand to be gone from all his projects.
Which gets me to the wonderful pieces of furniture that he has provided for our Timbrook Guesthouse. If you ever get a chance to stay in our Bluebird Suite, East Wing Suite, North Nest Room or Santa Fe Suite, you will be admiring all of the one-of-a-kind pieces of furniture that he has created for our lovely home. My dad was given a gift to create with his hands – from houses to furniture to even a strip kayak and canoe!
Come see for yourself all the masterpieces created by this mastermind! I have always been in awe of what he can do and I am sure you will be too.
Back in the day of CB radios, my dad’s CB handle was StormShanty, a play on his last name, Galehouse. So, for nostalgia sake…
StormShanty out.
Jill Dole,
Timbrook Guesthouse Innkeeper and StormShanty’s very proud, loving daughter!
