Cruising Along

This year’s family vacation was a huge hit! We did something different and went on a cruise. It seems like each year, we vacillate between the beach or the mountains, and this time I suggested we do something different and go on a cruise. Marcus and I went on a cruise for our honeymoon and had not been on one since that time.

Marcus was hesitant at first for fear that Lucas was still small and too active to be on a big huge boat and it was unsafe. Now, Marcus is indeed right when it comes to Lucas’ activity level. He can be a force to be reckoned with and you literally have to come home in skates just to keep up with him. But I thought he surely is not the first 3-year-old that has gone on a cruise before, so I convinced Marcus to be brave and let’s take on the challenge of cruising with the kids.

I am glad we did. We had an absolutely wonderful time on the cruise and the kids enjoyed it as well. The greatest thing about the cruise that we enjoyed is that we all had our time. In one vacation, we had family time, couple time and alone time. We never get that. We all spent time together as a family each morning as we ate breakfast together and we would all do the excursions together as we docked on the islands. After we would come back from the excursions, the kids would go to Camp Carnival where they would spend the rest of the evening. This allowed Marcus and I to be able to have dinner together every night in the dining room uninterrupted. That was great! Then, there were other days when the kids would go to a special kids event on the ship and Marcus stayed in the room to study while I went and found bingo games and anything else that sounded interesting. I actually got back into reading while I was on the cruise and had a great time doing so.

We chose Carnival Cruise Lines for our cruise because of the great kids’ programs via Camp Carnival. They were open from 9am – 10 pm. absolutely free! After 10 pm, they charged a babysitting fee and was open until 3 am each night. Our ship was Elation and it was filled with about 2,500 cruise goers. We docked at Playa del Carmen (Cancun) and Cozumel and they were both magnificent.

Some of the highlights on our trip was Lauren snorkeled for the first time and both Lauren and Lucas rode a jet ski for the first time!! They were both more courageous and brave than I would have ever imagined.  Also, it was neat to experience Mexico and the beauty there. I wonder what it is like to live in place that is home for you, but just an attraction for millions. I wonder what it is like to live so close the water and on any day of the week, you can ride the waves, snorkel, beach bum it, or just see and hear the water. It sounds wonderful.

We had an awesome time and this will in fact go down in history as one of the best vacations ever.

Hanging Pasta

Fettucine alfredo ranks at the top as one of my favorite foods! I absolutely love it. When it comes to sauces, alfredo is always my first pick and pesto comes in a strong second. Red sauces such as marinara do not typically make my top choices if alfredo is on the menu.

But my post today is not about my favorite foods. It is about HOW to eat one of my favorite foods called pasta. I have recently been interested in etiquette and all the do’s and dont’s of proper manners at the table specifically. Lately, I have observed that there are lots of people out there who do not know how to eat pasta! I do not claim to be an expert, but I must say I am glad to say that I know how and I try to practice it.

I will never forget the moment of truth for me around this. I was in college and out to lunch with my boss from my student job on campus. We were at Olive Garden eating fettucine alfredo and she stopped me mid-eating and told me to get my face out of my bowl! Yes, she did. My pasta was hanging out of my mouth and I had my face, head, and shoulders all engaged and bent down trying to slurp it up and get it all in my mouth. Hanging pasta!

She gave me an etiquette lesson I will never forget about how to eat pasta. She politely told me to pick up the spoon they had put in the pasta bowl and she showed me how to pick up the pasta with my fork and then twirl it on the spoon. Wow! I never knew or thought about why they always gave you a spoon with pasta. So, from that day forward I have committed to not having any more hanging pasta. But, it is amazing to me how most people I have seen over the years do not do this including my kids. That is the worst sight-to see someone eating spaghetti and slurping or their head burrowed so far in their bowl, you cannot even see their eyes. That used to be me. Now, I have moved from hanging pasta to a pasta twirler. I am trying to teach my kids the same.

Five Days and Anxiety

I’ve never been one to rush the calendar, especially in my older years. But all I can stomach these days is to get past the 22nd. Every moment between now and then is filled with uncertainty and anxiety. Derrick’s execution is scheduled for Sept. 22 which is a mere five days away. In my earlier post about this, I expressed my feelings at that time around the finality of all of this. I’ll repeat again that there is nothing in this world more final than death.
When we found out his execution date had been set, we were five weeks away and today we are five days away and still expecting with great anticipation a miracle. Do miracles come at the ninth hour? YES
We have already received one miracle last week on September 8 when we were notified that the judge who ruled in Derrick’s case went public and appealed to the governor to change the death sentence he had given Derrick! That was indeed a miracle. That gave us hope then and continues to give us hope now.

As we wait, our hearts are filled with lots of emotions and it sometimes feel as an emotional roller coaster with the constant effects of a roller coaster ride. You know how when you get off the roller coaster, you can have that sick feeling in your stomach moments after the ride is over? The “sick” feeling is pressing in deeply amidst all the anxiety. I have had some friends ask me about looking to find a support group for family members of those on death row. Unfortunately, I was unable to find anything. That was a sort of shock because one would think these days, there would  be a support group for just about anything and anywhere. I tried to reason in my head why this area would be lacking? It is it because society has deemed that as unimportant? Are the only victims truly the actual victim or family members of the victims? Just things that made me go hmmm….

I have never quite felt a nervous anticipation/anxiety like this and one that is so scary. As  I reflect back on my anticipatory moments, they consist of the night before my wedding, the night before a big trip, moments before a public speaking engagement. Nothing quite compares to the emotions over the last five weeks. The five weeks have gone pretty quickly and has been filled at times with emotions ranging from extreme hope to doubting despair. I have tried to speedily get up from the despair moments and move into a place of calm.When I get to calm, my heart is still anxious but it is manageable.

The next five days will be hard days but we are anxiously awaiting a miracle even if it’s the ninth hour.