As I write this, I am sitting inside a warm car, zipping down the highway at 70 mph on my way to visit family for Thanksgiving. (Don’t worry, my husband is driving.) It’s 38 degrees outside, cloudy, and my toes are cold from taking Sparky for a walk at a rest stop.
As you read this, I expect to be much warmer… in the Caribbean.
My husband and I are going on a cruise and I am so crazy, out-of-control excited, I can hardly wait!
I never thought a cruise vacation would ever interest me. I thought I’d feel claustrophobic and bored being cooped up on a ship with a few thousand people, walking around with froo-froo drinks decorated with paper umbrellas. In fact, I have gotten seasick on a boat tied to a dock. But then I went on one…then two… then three… then a few more cruises… and now I’m starting to understand those crazy Cruise Critic people who notch up cruises, ships and years like a vacation rap sheet.
As a mother, I spent years cooking, cleaning, chauffeuring, working and worrying, but on a cruise ship, something magical and amazing happens: I DON’T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING.
Did you hear that? It’s wonderful.
I feel very fortunate. There were many years in my life that I couldn’t have afforded a cruise. But my boys are grown, Sparky will be well-tended, and, darn it(!) the biggest luxury I can think of is not having to do anything for a short, blessed week or so.
Yeah, yeah… a rogue wave, failed engine, or nasty norovirus could dampen my enthusiasm. But I’m not counting on it.
So as you read this, I hope I am jogging on the deck, being wrapped in seaweed, eating chocolate lava cake, or pulling the covers up, but NOT making the bed.
And I expect my toes will be warm.
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Ann K. Howley is the award-winning author of Confessions of a Do-Gooder Gone Bad.
Please visit her website at http://annkhowley.com/#about-ann
photo credit: <a href=”https://www.flickr.com/photos/24736216@N07/5672990474/”>roger4336</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a href=”http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/”>cc</a>