Sunday, November 29, 2009

The Perfect Thanksgiving II

Wow, another year, another Thanksgiving. This was a good one. Last year Perfect Thanksgiving 2008 I finally 'got it' and this year? Oh, I owned it! We had house guests, I hosted dinner this year, AGAIN. I was unsure how that would work since I worked late the day before. But somehow it was fine, It was organized and everything went off without a hitch. It was awesome and I was completely relaxed hanging with my family and enjoying every moment.  This year I am a mother-in-law...amazing.  It was quite surreal to have my son, his wife and granddaughter (and the twins who make their arrival in April). 

So I am constantly learning things about myself. So one thing is that I really enjoy having houseguests (ok, certain ones...the inlaws are the best ones!). I don't have to entertain them, I don't feel like my house has to be lick the floors clean or that the fridge should be stocked full of food. My house is large enough that we can have plenty of space and I can retreat to my own quarters when the 'Hostess with the Mostess' tank gets low.

Well, there is one more holiday left and I am sure we will have the opportunity to host someone. It will be the perfect opportunity to learn something else about myself.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Well It's about Time, and Dream Really Do Come True!

Okay, I really intended to blog everyday while I was on vacation, to capture the awe and amazement of fulfilling so many dreams...But that didn't happen. First of all, I was indeed in awe of the water, the sky, the ship, the fact that I didn't have to remember to put my pager next to the bed or find my phone in the morning in case some one tried to call me. I was in complete relax mode! (and the ship charged .75 cents a minute for Internet access...I'm not cheap, but that is ridiculous!)

So we started out with a relatively smooth flight, except when a passenger had a heart attack on the plane and had to be AED'd...or when one of the party that we were traveling with lost his wallet on the plane, and the airline personnel lied and said they look for it. (A passenger on the next flight found it sitting right on the seat in plain view. He FedEx'd it to him...Nice guy!) Miami was amazing, and HOT. We kind of felt like cattle on our way into the port to go through customs and the check in process was long to get onto the ship, but oh when we got there!!! Amazing! Between the drinks and food, and more drinks and a little more food and one more drink, we took off for our first stop in Samana, Dominican Republic. Then it was off to St. Thomas (my favorite), Tortola British Virgin Islands and finally Great Stirrup Cay, the cruise line's private island paradise.

It was on the island that my dream came true. Quite literally. See for years, 32 to be exact, I have been deathly afraid of water after a near drowning at 8 years old. I developed a mental block of the previous 3 years of learning to swim and loving it! I hated the water to come anywhere near my belly button...Oh, but something about the beautiful Caribbean ocean allayed those fears. For as long as I can remember I would have dreams about swimming under under water(I'm sure it means something)and seeing the fish and plankton. It would be so real. However there was no way I was going to do that in real life. Uh uh not me. But I did. I actually swam in the ocean and snorkeled. It was amazing and just like my dreams, but even better! It was so amazing to feel that sense of accomplishment, of doing something that I only could dream of.

I feel so empowered now. I feel like I can do anything, be anything (yep even at this old age!) Accomplish things that just seem so daunting. It was the trip of a lifetime up to this point. I plan on making other dreams come true too, so I will have to take more trips I guess!