I recently missed two days of note writing.
“Why did you miss two days of note writing?” you might ask.
“Because I was on a family cruise,” I would say.
“And how was your cruise?” you would inquire.
“It was good,” I would respond. “I had a really nice time.”
And I did.
On our way home last Tuesday, my mom, dad, and I went around the car round-robin and shared our most memorable/poignant moments with/about each person on the trip. Here are the moments I shared:
Dad (dad): I woke up not feeling well on Saturday morning. After getting up to speak to my parents, I leaned into my dad and let him hold me for a few minutes. He hugged me and rubbed my back and I let him be my dad without putting up a fight.
Mom (mom): My mom is never happier than when she is with her children and/or grandchildren. Our family had six rooms on the same hall. Five rooms were beside each other, four of which shared a balcony, but one room was down the hall near the elevators that we used to get to our dining room. One night, as we walked to dinner, I found myself behind mom and Amelia, holding hands, happily swinging their arms as they talked. I knew, in that moment, that my mom was as happy as she could be…and just the sight of it made me smile.
Deanna (self): On Sunday night, as we speedily made our way back from the Bahamas, I stood on our balcony and watched the moon cascade across the ocean. On Monday morning, as we slowly made our way into port, I stood on our balcony and watched the sun rise. It’s hard to describe how lovely those moments were.
Dana (sister): On Sunday night, as we speedily made our way back from the Bahamas, I stood on our balcony and watched the moon cascade across the ocean. For awhile, Dana joined me on the balcony, reporting bathroom humor jokes from a comedy show her family had attended, laughing really hard at the memory of Griffin and Amelia laughing, making me laugh in the process. Afterward, she got her camera and took pictures of the beautiful night.
Finley (brother-in-law):Unfortunately, I got sick on Saturday. I was nauseous all day but tried not to let the feeling stop me. Finley was very concerned about my well-being and made sure I had everything I needed. When I needed a drink, he bought me ginger ale and delivered it to my door. I was, and still am, grateful.
G-mama (grandmother): G-mama was my roommate,so we shared a lot together, including a bedside breakfast from room service the morning after I was sick. The night that I was sick, G-mama and I each lay in our beds in a sleepy stupor and had a long conversation. I have absolutely no idea what we talked about, but we talked for at least 30 minutes as G-mama tried to find the energy to finish getting ready for bed and I tried not to throw up.I don’t know why, but I loved this moment. I also loved when G-mama told Henry that even though he was short, G-daddy was an excellent basketball player. Hen doesn’t know yet if he’ll be tall, but he knows he wants to play basketball, and in that moment he heard that he could do it no matter what.
June Gail (aunt): JG was my traveling buddy. Before the cruise, I asked if she’d look at one of the dayexcursions and tell me if she wanted to go. She wrote back and said, “I don’t even need to look. If you want to go, then I’ll go.” And so we went. To the zoo. And we watched the world famous Ardastra Zoo and Garden flamingos perform.And we went on a city tour of Nassau, Bahamas, and spoke to a lot of vendors at the Straw Market. And when I said, “Thanks for bringing the crackers,” as I ate a little snack, she said, “I’ve done this a time or two.” And she has. And I am glad.
Shearin (aunt): G-mama doesn’t like to get up in the mornings, so she was very concerned about getting up and disembarking the ship on the final morning of the trip. After she’d been waking up for about 30 minutes and we’d been talking about her getting up, G-mama found herself face to face with Shearin. Shearin walked into the room, opened the curtains, and told G-mama to get up. And G-mama did! Immediately. The drill sergeant spoke. G-mama listened. And I laughed :-).
Paul (uncle): Paul and I took naps at the same time on our super balcony on Friday. I liked that moment. And I liked when JG and I wandered off the ship in Nassau and Paul waved at us from the balcony. It was neat to see him see us and to turn to get Shearin to wave as well.
Gretchen (sister-in-law): On Friday night, the entire family went to a Motown show. As we waited for the show to begin, I started a game of slaps with Charlie. The game quickly turned into a massive game of slaps with all of the kids, Gretchen, and me. My sister captured a picture of Gretchen with a huge grin of laughter on her face as she played slaps with Griffin. Gretchen and Griffin are an abnormal pairing, so this image is one that truly makes me smile.
Daniel (brother): On Sunday night, during our last dinner, my mom sat with Daniel, Gretchen, and the five kids. After they finished eating, Gretchen and the boys left to go to a game-show that we’d all planned to attend. Surprisingly, when the older boys left, Griffin contentedly stayed behind. Daniel stayed behind as well. Griffin was eating fried chicken on the bone for the first time and it was so good that he wanted to finish his meal. Not wanting to pick up the bones, however, Griffin asked Daniel to help him remove the meat. Daniel did. And he waited patiently for Griffin to eat all he wanted and for Amelia and mom to have dessert. After everyone at his table finished eating, Daniel went to the game-show in just enough time to see Charlie called on stage to play—and win. Daniel was very proud of Charlie. I was very touched by him.
…to be continued…
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