Reflections on a Bahaman Cruise: The Kid Files

I must admit that I wasn’t overly excited about going on a cruise. I was very concerned about motion sickness and about being stuck on a boat in the middle of the ocean. I also had fears of hitting an iceberg and sinking in the Atlantic. It didn’t matter that we were sailing south to the Bahamas.

Before we left port two weeks ago today, the kids decided that they needed to go exploring and that Aunt Dee would go with them. As Aunt Dee recovered from being herded onto the ship with hundreds of people and faced all fears of dying, I witnessed the kids excitedly take in the ship and make sure that I was close behind. During those moments, I received a text from one of my friends that instructed me to have a good time. I responded: “It’s kind of hard not to have a good time when the kids are calling my name.”

And so it was. And not just because of the kids. But with the adults as well. We really did have a lovely cruise. And it helped that we didn’t hit an iceberg…and that a massive stomach virus didn’t infect the ship.

So, now, to my memorable/poignant moments with the kids, all of whom were thrilled to be on their first cruise together, none of whom took for granted what a blessing it was to be able to go:

Jack (oldest nephew): Even though we were sailing to the Bahamas, it was still a bit chilly on the ship, so on our sea day, immediately after going down the water slide one time, Jack and his brothers found themselves scrambling to drink hot chocolate and to get under towels to stay warm. Griffin and Amelia, though not in their bathing suits, did the same. At one point, Jack took responsibility for taking the younger children to get more hot chocolate. He said, “Charlie, get on your shoes. Griffin and Amelia, make sure you stay with me. Everyone stay with me. Okay?” And so Jack took charge of the hot chocolate excursion and he taught everyone to put vanilla ice cream in the mug both to cool down and add more sweetness to their drinks :-). That same night, I sat beside Jack at dinner. He was being adventurous and ordered alligator fritters for his appetizer and a gourmet burger off the adult menu for his meal. The burger was topped with sautéed onions, which he was hesitant to try, but he liked them—as did he like the bit of lobster that his mom let him try. After trying three new things in one meal and eating his way through a truly manly burger, Jack said, through his boyishly radiant grin, “I’m being very manly tonight. This might put more than my one hair on my chest.” :-)

Henry (2nd oldest nephew): As Henry lay in his beach chair trying to get warm on that sea day, Amelia realized that she, too, was cold. Griffin was snuggled up with Jack. Charlie was snuggled up with Gretchen. So Amelia decided to bunker down next to Henry, and Henry gladly scooted over to make room for her. Later that night, Henry was tired and not feeling well, so I told him that if he’d come sit beside me then I’d rub his back. Without a moment’s hesitation, Henry was beside me and I was rubbing his back. Two days later, while docked in Freeport, Bahamas, Henry’s eyes about popped out when I showed him my ice cream cone skills. I perfected my soft-serve ice cream cone technique (the spiral) while at Summer Ventures in 1994. Hen perfected his soft-serve ice cream cone technique (the up-down) twenty years later while on our cruise :-).

Charlie (youngest nephew): Speaking of ice cream, Charlie wore an ice cream mustache, or should I say goatee, for most of the cruise. In case you don’t know, soft-serve ice cream is served at all hours of the day—and, yes, it’s free. But what I remember about Charlie is how extremely excited he was on the last night of cruise. Though I didn’t see it happen, Charlie was invited onto stage to be a contestant in the Hasbro Game Show. He won his event and got to compete for the grand prize. He finished third overall and was awarded a handheld Simon, a card game, and a $20 Hasbro gift card. I’m not sure if it was that experience, the ice cream, or his burning the midnight (9:30ish) oil, but Charlie was so happily excited that he was literally bouncing up and down—and grinning—and sparkling like only Charlie can do.

Griffin (3rd oldest nephew): Griffin loves his cousins, especially Jack. In fact, I think that if Jack asked Griffin to fly to the moon and back, then Griffin would figure out a way to do it—unless it involved getting his face wet and then Griffin would hesitate—Griffin hates getting his face wet. Anyway, on the first night of the cruise, Griffin and Jack sat beside each other at dinner. At one point, I looked over and Griffin had his head on the front of Jack’s shoulder and both of them were laughing as hard as they could. It was a picture of pure joy—a picture that makes me smile as I write these words today. I also smile as I think of Griffin in the gift shop on our last full day. My mom agreed to spend $10 on each kid. Griffin, who loves gifts almost as much as he loves Jack, set off shopping. On his own, Griffin chose a small flashlight. The boy likes flashlights, too. But when he couldn’t convince Jack to get a matching flashlight because Jack wanted a plastic container to put his iPod in at the beach, Griffin suddenly wanted that same plastic container; after all, he hadn’t seen it before. Flashlight back on the rack, plastic container ready to be purchased, Griffin abruptly changed his mind again because he spotted a neoprene waterproof pouch—and there was no doubt that the pouch was waterproof—it said so on the tag. He wasn’t sure about the plastic container, and the pouch was bigger so that he could put more stuff in it. Guess who else had exchanged his plastic container for the neoprene pouch? That’s right: Jack. Charlie had selected his stuffed animal. Amelia had selected her mermaid ornament. Henry had selected a smaller neoprene pouch. And Jack and Griffin had selected their waterproof pouches…which…I must say really were good, practical, matching souvenirs.

Amelia (niece): Amelia is probably the happiest, most joyful, full of life person I know. Throughout the cruise, she could be seen with a smile on her face, enjoying whatever she was doing—whether it be getting dressed, going down a water slide, playing putt-putt, eating, walking, playing with her cousins, talking to any of the adults, watching a show, or dancing just because she felt like dancing. My most poignant moment with Amelia, however, happened on that sea day whenever everyone was trying to stay warm. I had left everyone in their chairs and gone to the back of the deck to watch the ocean. A few minutes later, Amelia came to stand beside me. Eventually, we ended up sitting on the deck, me cross-legged style, her sitting in my lap. As we sat there together, Amelia played with the rings on my hands, or simply held my hands in or over hers. She looked up at me with her wide eyes and slightly freckled nose and said, “Well what about the Pilgrims?” and we proceeded to have a long talk about the Mayflower and Thanksgiving and the other things she’d learned in school. I have no idea what made her think about Pilgrims while cruising to the Bahamas. What ever makes Kindergarten students think of what they do? But I know that I will always remember that moment of having her near, looking into the ocean, no land in sight, talking, sharing each other’s warmth, knowing, beyond any shadow of doubt, that we each were loved.

Reflections on a Bahaman Cruise

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…