NC State Student’s Excellent Summer Adventure at Lake Gaston

Written by Lyndsay:

(Before diving into the main part of this blog, I would like to extend a very big ‘thank you’ to Nancy Walker-Reilly, without whom I would not be writing this.  She is the reason I was given the opportunity to work here this summer and I hope she knows how sincerely grateful I am.)

Lindsay (on left) seated with Autumn (alias "Birdie")

Now, Mary asked me to write about my experiences this summer, both good and bad.  Bad experiences at Mary Sherwood’s, you say?  Is that possible?  Well, folks (did I just say folks?), I must admit that there were a few times this summer when I thought, “What have I gotten myself into?”  But, please, do not misunderstand me.  I do not mean to say that I was faced with any really bad experiences, because I wasn’t.  Let’s call them all learning experiences instead.  Every mistake is another opportunity to learn, right?  While I don’t want to bore anyone with details about all of my mishaps (though, in retrospect, some were quite entertaining), I will say that it is always better to ask exactly how to do something before you do it.  Always.

A little birdie told me that Mary isn’t particularly fond of wordiness, so let me try to wrap this up.  It should go without saying that my good experiences this summer definitely outweighed my b-, uh, learning experiences.  Mary and Paul are fantastic people to work for and with.  I can guarantee that when I get old enough to have my own home, I will be hiring Mary to design it.  What an incredible designer-seriously.  She’s a pretty good boss, too. But really,  if you’re reading this and have never been in to meet her and talk decorating, turn off your computer, get out of your chair, and go–right now!  I promise I would not lead you astray.  And Paul, I swear, that man knows everything…about everything.  There wasn’t a question I asked all summer that he didn’t have the answer to.  There’s a lot to be said for that.  Oh, but I can’t forget to thank him for supplying me with coffee all the time.  The avid caffeine drinker I am, Paul quickly became my friend.  And last, but most certainly not least, Autumn.  That girl has the patience of a rock.  I know there were times this summer when she thought I was a complete idiot.  I mean, how hard is it to hang pictures perfectly straight on a wall? (Harder than you might think, just FYI.) And we got to gossip, well, network during down time, which was really nice.  Girls love to talk, you know?  Plus, she’s the best gift wrapper this side of Indiana.

All in all, I’ve had a wonderful summer working here and I’d like to thank everyone-Mary, Paul, Autumn, Nancy, Lu, and all of our wonderful customers for making it so worthwhile.

Lyndsay

PS:  I would like to express my appreciation for all of Lyndsay’s hard work and commitment to this summer job.  It can be a fun and difficult place to work.  To survive you have to be a “quick study”.  She did more than survive!

It has been a pleasure having her as part of our team.

Good luck to you in your senior year at NC State and your future  excellent “adventures”.

Best regards, Mary