Escaping a broken promise

By: Jennifer K.
Levittown, NY

Well, to tell you my story about my experience at the Mirror Lake Inn, I first must tell you what led up to my ending up there for 4 positively soul-inspiring days…

It began like any other day, or so I thought. While at work for the jewelry store I was employed at during college, I went about my daily routine. I remember that no one else was in the front of the store besides me, when HE walked in. This wasn’t just any he; it was my assistant manager’s brother. I couldn’t help but turn bright red (thanks to the Irish in me), stammer all over my words, and basically sound like a bumbling idiot whenever he showed up. And guess what; this time was no exception. He and his sister went off to lunch, leaving me to man the store with my manager. After noticing the peculiar new shade my face had turned, he assumed the only logically (and obviously true) reason for this. After my assistant manager and her brother came back from lunch, my manager made an excuse for him to talk with my crush’s sister in the back of the store. As both my crush and I realized the obvious plot at hand, we talked about how “weird” everyone was acting. This was the same small talk which we always engaged in, but this time to my wonderment (and extreme pleasure) we had exchanged phone numbers with my promise to call him as soon as I came back to school from the upcoming weeklong vacation (which later I found out he assumed I would not do!) Things progressed rapidly throughout my last year at college and by the end of senior year (and only a few short months of dating) he had decided to quit his job and move with me back to Long Island, leaving everything and everyone he knew behind. Our love and appreciation of each other grew and after seven months we were engaged! After deciding to honor my parents by getting married on the same day as they were (hey, if it brought them luck, it would surely bring us the same!) we were consumed by the demands of planning a wedding. Our preoccupation with wedding halls, photographers, DJs, dresses, invite lists, grad school, work, the high cost of a Long Island wedding (to name a few) we forgot about each other; life seemed to be going by in a whirlwind. Unfortunately, that whirlwind proved to be too much for us to handle. Two months before our wedding (almost a year and a half after our engagement) I ended up packing up my things and moving back in with my parents. Our love that was perfect, meant to be, and one-of-a-kind, was no more. A crack had formed and that breach was insurmountable. It was the hardest decision of my life, to leave the life that we had created together, and turn away knowing that I could never go back.

And this is how I ended up at Mirror Lake. As the day that was supposed to be our wedding day, our happily ever after, drew nearer, I knew that I needed to get away. I didn’t want to be around my friends and family on that day, seeing that pitying look that they were sure to give me. How many times could I answer the question, “Are you okay?” I began to search for getaways; one where I wouldn’t feel like I needed to be with a person to truly enjoy it. When I came across the Mirror Lake web page I knew that I needed to search no further. This would be the perfect getaway to rejuvenate my soul, focus on and spoil myself, as well as relax and get away from it all. And that is what it was! I knew I had made the right decision as soon as I walked into my room and heard the soothing sounds emitting from my bedside radio. Everything was perfect. I got in touch with myself that weekend. I took care of myself and focused only on myself. I distinctly remember walking down to my dinner reservation that Sunday night (what would have been my wedding night) and catching my breath upon seeing an elegant table set for one, with a lonely little candle burning silently. In a way it was a metaphor for myself; independent, resilient, flickering but still there. It was an emotional moment for me. My mind wandered to the thought that I was supposed to be sitting at my dais at Villa Lombardi’s with my groom by my side, but instead I was at a table for one, hundreds of miles away. After taking a deep breath, I sat down and began to look over my menu. To my surprise and pleasure, very shortly after the woman who had given me my Adirondack Maple Sugar Body Scrub that day was seated behind me with her brother and friend. She had invited me to sit with them. I gladly accepted and enjoyed wonderful company. Throughout the evening I rarely experienced moments like the one that I had encountered upon entering the restaurant. I left two days later feeling at peace and knowing that my world had not come to an end. I could survive anything after this personal crisis of mine.

After my experience at Mirror Lake, I swore that I would make it an annual destination for me; one that I would take by myself to recapture that inspiring and soul-rejuvenating feeling that it leaves you with. Although I could not make it this past year, I am in the process of planning out my next trip there in the upcoming months. I may have to break one promise to myself, and that is to go there by myself. I want to share this experience with others, especially the one that now holds my heart. If Mirror Lake can fix my broken heart and teach me that it is okay to love again, what can it do for you?