I did my undergrad at St. Mary-of-the-Woods College near Terre Haute, Indiana.
The grounds of the campus are magical. I think any reservation I had about going to a private Catholic women’s liberal arts college flew out the window when we drove down the avenue and onto the campus.
I can’t describe how wonderful it is to actually attend school there. Small classes, close knit friends, great opportunities for anyone to get involved. I graduated in 2000 and even 12 years later I still keep up with my mentor, Sister Ellen.
So why am I bringing this up? Once a summer we try to go to ‘the Woods,’ as it is fondly called, for a weekend getaway.
They have a guest house with simple, but comfortably, furnished rooms where we sleep. And we spend the day walking around the grounds. There are is a labyrinth, many lovely statues, and a park like setting with beautiful trees and fields. There are also a few stone grottos, a barn with horses and alpacas, and a farm area where they grow vegetables for a CSA.
A few weeks ago we ventured down and stayed the evening. We walked around with Sister Ellen, and then had dinner at a great restaurant in the Village nearby that we can reach by trail.
The kids love it. I told Zoe we were going to St. Mary’s and she kept asking everyone she saw if they were Mary.
She told Ellen that she wanted to stay there ‘Foreber and eber’. And Ellen (being a Sister of Providence, which also has their Motherhouse on the grounds) said that she would send some pamphlets home about becoming a Sister. š
Overall it was a refreshing and wonderful weekend.
