Mushy Alert!
I've been thinking of something for a while now and thought now is as good a time as any to put it down in print.
I have a feeling deep in my heart that this is going to be the best Christmas ever!
In May of '03 when we first heard about the possibility of the 10 day cruise Mark and I were excited. It sounded so wonderful. Still there is the thing about being away from family over the holidays. My mom has been gone for 7 years now so the holidays just aren't the same for me. I love Mark's family but they aren't really into the holidays either - at least not the immediate family. So it wasn't too hard. Yet the thought had crossed my mind that it would be just the two of us (well three - we will have Bear

) for the holidays.
That was really why way back when I wanted to start the newsletters. I wanted to get to know those that I was sailing with. Not to push into your family celebrations but to see friendly faces on the ship, on shore, etc. That's what happened on the first Member Cruise and I thought if we could meet one or two people as great as we met then it would be great.
I never, never expected to become as close to so many of you as I have. I can honestly say that in the 4 plus years I've been on the DIS I've never enjoyed logging on as much as I have since I joined this group. This thread has brought a smile to my face so many time, many of those times when I really really needed a smile.
I feel such pride hearing about Karen's son getting that starring role.
I feel such joy in making a card to cheer up Sue's mom.
I feel such happiness in logging on to chat and seeing so many other 12/18 cruisers joining in and having fun.
I love looking at all the pictures you've shared. I love reading about the meetings you have had.
I look forward to all the events we have planned as a group.
Of course I realize that I have the best of both worlds in that I have this great group as well as the best husband in the world to share it all with.
So to all those on this thread - thank you so much for being here and making this thread and this cruise so special.
Do me a favor will you all. Thank your spouses and family members for sharing you with us. I know I'll be thanking them when I meet them.
Ok - mushiness over - back to your regular chatting.
