Wherever You Go....

After a most fabulous, amazing week....we are home. We were wined and dined and treated as royalty for seven entire days. A week of more delectable foods than I could list and Broadway-like shows and snorkeling and walking 20 feet underwater with a helmet on my head so that I could breathe and watch colorful fish swim directly in front of my face and sleeping in and an endless supply of mixed drinks (virgin-style) and shaded whirlpools and watching the ocean go by on the deck with book in hand...and all with my favorite guy right by my side.

Fabulous.

But? I am glad to be home. I missed my kids so much it hurt and I missed my routine and my pets and my flowers and my porch swing. I missed so many things that are so good about my life.

I would have to say, though, that my absolutely favorite thing about our week was hanging on our balcony and watching the ocean roll by. Never-ending waves that spanned as far as the eye could see. I thought about so many things while I was standing out there on that balcony multiple times a day: how many kinds of fish were swimming underneath us; the courage of Columbus so many eons ago; the horror of falling overboard or going down with the ship (yeah...that's not exactly a peaceful thought but I couldn't help wondering about that practically every time I looked over the walls of my balcony); and the wonder of our world.

In the mornings when Roy would wake up, as he always woke up first, he would get out of bed and throw open the curtains so we could watch the sun wake up over the horizon. From our bed we could see the ocean beyond us, lazily rolling by, as the sky burst with splendor. We just lay there and watched, not saying a word. And then at night? We strolled out on the deck and watched the sun go down, the last edges of light barely peaking over the horizon.

It was breathtaking.

And we met so many amazing people. We met a little couple in their mid 70's who ate lunch beside us one day. They were so cute, asking us questions about our lives with genuine interest. The man's name was Bobby and he said, "If there's one thing I've learned in my life, it's that we never need to worry. Life always has a way of working out. And I've gone through some pretty tough times but I manage to come out on the other side all the better. Every time." These two loved each other and we had so much fun chatting with them.

We met Damian who was one of our waiters from Bermuda. Every evening after we had eaten our main course he would say, "Are you ready for some yum-yum? There's always room for yummy-yummy!" He was practically a kid--still in his 20's, and on our last day he shared with me how he had a little seven-year old girl in Jamaica and he desperately wanted to be a good daddy. That is why he worked the ship--so he could send her money and see her on the weeks that the ship stopped on that island (which was every other week).

We met a couple from Ireland who always vacation in the States. They were about our age and had chosen to not have kids because...they take too much time and focus. (I can't imagine my life without my kids. They're missing so much wonderful.) But probably our favorite person we met was a guy named Boaventura. (Roy called him Ace.) He was our head waiter and he had the cutest smile ever and was so genuinely kind. From India, he has a wife back home and a little three year old girl. He only gets to go home after seven months on the ship and stays for nine weeks before doing it all again. But he said, "It's how I provide for my family and so it's what I have to do."

Blessings to you, Boaventura.

The one thing both Roy and I noticed, though--sadly--is that so many people seemed so sad, so stressed, so in their own heads. Here they were on this spectacular cruise that offered so much wonder on every side and yet...their foreheads were creased with worry and their words were short. Many, exhausted,  wrestled crying children and the stress was evident on their faces.

One evening, Damian said, "People come on the boat to escape their lives and when they get here, they realize that their lives followed them."

Wherever you go, there you are.

This past week, I was reminded to take life slowly, to breathe in the good stuff. I was reminded to focus on the present, leaving the past behind and the future right where it is...in the future. Life passes by. We long for a future event to arrive and...it does. And then it's gone. Sorrows happen...but then they pass. And if we are constantly spinning in our heads, we will come to the end of our lives and realize that we haven't really lived.

I am thankful that I am home. I am thankful for kind neighbors who plan fun activities for Jace and make his days brighter as he adjusts to a new life at home. I am thankful for a husband who is one amazing "wife". I am thankful that we are planning our next vacation that will somehow involve dolphins. I am thankful for my new job that keeps me challenged and excited for each new day. Most of all...I am thankful for my here and now.

I am thankful for today.