"The Truth About Youth" - Annette Funicello
Apologies for such the long delay on our last day at sea! That nasty bug on my birthday kept giving and giving...5 weeks of a killer kidney infection sacked me and life is now beginning to regain a small measure of all that fleeting energy I've missed!
I wake up feeling NOT NAUSEOUS!!! What a wonderful feeling! I feel very weak, but I have an appetite, and on the ship, that's a wonderful feeling....knowing you can find food without having to fix it, shop for it, or unload it from the back of the car! Honestly, I think as a mom, my biggest treat is not having to shop and prepare 21 meals for five people
I keep it light, but the food feels good to my wracked innerds. Today is
Castaway Cay!!! In three cruises, this will be our first ever visit and we've really heard a lot of great things about it! Dear son is still being ever so kind to me, "Yes, ma'am"s every other request, helping me carry my camera/towels etc. This kid is really trying to make up for a crappy birthday and the night before!
The girls are just so happy to have mom back and up at 'em. We disembark at CC..beautiful beautiful day!! I see many heading for the trams, but honestly, I need as much walking as possible...being bedridden for a day makes you just want to walk endlessly to shake off that sick feeling.
It is not a bad walk, maybe 10 minutes to the second beach area....I really enjoyed it, they have nice landscaping and very few seem to be walking the paths..great opportunities for photo ops. It was probably about 9am when we got off the ship, really wanted to hit the slides...
As soon as we find some chairs (plenty, can't imagine having trouble finding any) we go pick up our floats and then it hits me, my body is too weak, that walk took it out of me...I think there will be no slides or floats for me, I need to just lay in the shade...get a bite to eat and relax. That is EXACTLY what I did! Youngest daughter took off with the Edge crowd...she loves those CMs and the kids in there....the other two take to the slide....they really liked it but oddly, neither one was that enthused. We've been at CC for 15 minutes and they're tired of it!
I had planned on hanging out for a few hours minimum! They're ready to go back to the ship! Geez Louise! I tell them, maybe we need to explore a bit, figured mom needed to jump start their adventuring gene...we make it to a games area and momma stomps her daughter at Chess (okay, maybe she stomped me...my memories are foggy that day
) Now, they're really bored, they both gave me the look of "We played the games, can we get back on the ship?" I tell them we HAVE to eat at the BBQ place...so I coax them into eating...son is not that hungry, but he's kind enough to sit with us anyhow...I think I know what's happening...it's the last day of the cruise and they are 1. tired and 2. so sad to leave the ship that they don't want to miss a minute of what the SHIP has to offer. That has to show credit to Disney...I know they invested a load into CC...but it has no draw for them at all, give them the ship. Oh well, I was weak, tired, filled with grilled chicken and ready to acquiesce to their wishes. I said they could go on, I would wait for other daughter..who obviously has my go, go, go and explore gene. I settle back into the lounge chair ...
In comes hubby and daughter, they caught up with each other on the slide. He did it once, he was not impressed...liked the AquaDuck better and HE wants to go back to the ship, as does youngest...so there was our 1.5 hour stint at CC....walk on, walk off...at least the weather was gorgeous and I did enjoy the solitary walk back to the ship...taking shots of the beautiful flowers/butterflies/fauna that lifts my spirits readily. I doubt I'll rent floats again, should have given them to another family, but I look around and see many unused floats all over...I carry them back to check them back in and head to the shops, buy a quick Tervis cup and honestly, I am sacked at this point..time for a nap.
I was too weak for another AD ride, but genuinely happy that despite the bumps in the road, this precious time with family and watching each kid grow in their communication skills (did I mention our first cruise, dear son would not even go up the stairs to Vibe??) and confidence with making new friends.
I get my nap in and now it's time to start packing....honestly, why would we want 2 rooms?? Just seems more space to cover trying to find all the little doodads that need to be packed. In about 2 hours we have the whole room packed...we carry our luggage off so no biggie. I had about 3 bags of ice cream toppings left to give to our CM, not sure if they can use it, but in addition to the tips..hoped it might lighten her day, she had a rough patch a few days before. We did end up talking to her manager about it and her...both were so happy we had heard and corroborated her side of the story..she was just a gem and worked soo hard, especially in our rooms! Three teens!!
All the kids were excited about tonight's dinner at Animator's Palette, the night where your drawings come to life....everyone was looking for their drawings...so cool to see them come alive, but as Murphy would have it, my youngest (who knows a thing or two about Murphy) was very dismayed when her drawing never made it on the screen..her name was on the credits, but her picture never came up...we had built it up all week and she took a good deal of time with it...just another opportunity to play the GLAD game....and for a momma's hear to sigh trying to patch all of those life's disappointments....
They realize it's their last night and all scatter to their youth clubs/friends made, to exchange social media information/phone numbers...what have you...dh and I head back to the room and sit out on the balcony...I think only the second time this entire trip...such a nice moment...20 years, Grumpy! We've had 20 years and these three precious beings to show for it! The day has taken a toll on this weakened body...the girls come in around 10:30 and share all their stories, the goodbye's and the desperate pleas to book another cruise for next year!
We sit in bed and talk for about an hour, then they fall asleep....
Dear son..hmmmm....where is he? 11:30...11:40...11:50....11:55....In walks dear son. We thank him for minding the curfew and something in my prescient mind decides to ask a harmless question...maybe I've watched too many Annette Funicello beach movies, or too many Suite Life of Zach and Cody...but these words come out of my mouth..."So, did you get your first kiss tonight?"
Expecting a "MOM!!" With a long drawn out sigh...I was almost taken aback when the response was a quiet and prideful, "Why, yes I did."
HUH??? Luckily, the girls were asleep or there would have been a cacophony of squeals and "What? Who? Where? How?" but it was just that quiet moment where mom and dad heard the answer, have that special moment of looking at each other and all in one fell second grasping that with 20 years of marriage comes another milestone in the lives of our children...what oh what will the next 5 years of 3 teenagers bring? I'm sure it will be action packed, ladened with challenges, sprinkled with tender moments...just an everlasting journey of memories.
So, this is what dear son had been working towards this cruise...a first kiss. Do you all remember yours? I guess if it had to be a first, having it on the Fantasy is about a good a place as any. We've raised him to be a gentleman, the footwork was laid and is still being laid as we speak...but let a kid have his moment...just awfully sweet he did not mind sharing that bit of revelation with his grumpy Dad and well, me.
The disembarking the next morning was fine, it's all a blur now, not even sure we had breakfast...oh, but one special last memory...
Since we were carrying all our luggage off, there was really no way to go and track down all the wonderful people we shared this cruise with (speaking of our Dis'er friends who really feel like family now!)...we just assured the kids that we would keep in touch and hopefully plan another trip with all the wonderful families we met. We had a 14 hour drive home so were anxious to get it started and see our dogs, horses, cats, and any other new strays that arrived while we were gone (3 kittens)....
We see the shuttle that will take us to the parking lot..he lets us load and asks if we'd mind just waiting 5 more minutes that there was another family he was supposed to pick up early....we're just happy that we got off the ship so quickly, it might be about 7:30 at this time.
We're all chatting and not paying attention to the family that comes up...what are the odds?? It is the precious family that we've grown to know as family, the one my husband and I shared our anniversaries with over Palo, the one the kids rode down the AD with...
We had no clue they were catching this shuttle or at this time...we both said we hoped to disembark early...and fate would have it that we DO get to say our goodbyes and just seeing them put a perfect ending to the trip...we all feel that God brought us together to make this trip happen and seeing each other at the very end of it was one of those special, special events. We texted each other all the way home to see who would get home faster..they had to go to North Carolina, we had to go to Alabama....
Cruising is so much more than getting away, it's getting a new outlook on life, making new friends, seeing your kids grow up before your eyes and celebrating the gift we have in each other.
Blah blah blah, I go cheesy like wind in a hurricane! (Which, by the way, really worried about those latest cruisers!! Way to ride it out!!)
So go and plan your time away, make those memories and enjoy the ride!!
Oh, and one last Murphy....okay, two..
LOST MY NEW CAMERA CORD charger..left it plugged in behind the goodie bags, called Disney and never heard a word
And that 14 hour drive home, remember the sickness on the 13th? Well, 14 stops later....along the 14 hours, I finally felt it had 'left' me....oh, but not before infecting my kidneys
Gotta love Murphies!!
Thanks to all for reading our trip...hope you have fun planning yours and something in here helped you plan yours!
Until next year...hopefully!
