Mother of Five: Blog posts from our cruise

January 23, 2020 4:15 pm

Sitting in Baltimore Harbor waiting for the ship, Grandeur of the Seas to sail. The ship boarded late because there was illness on the previous cruise and hey had to clean and sanitize the ship. We wanted lunch but food service in the dining room ended at 3:00 so we didn’t get that. Oh well, we did find potato chips and munched on them.

January 24^th 9:00am

Last evening, we must have walked a hundred miles. At least it felt like it. From one end of the ship to the other and back. Didn’t really have lunch aside from a bag of potato chips. Had dinner with three people from Philadelphia who invited us back to their table. Saves us the hassle of reserving a table or searching for a place to sit every evening.

We the went to a show last night. It was the intro to the various performances we can see during the cruise.

Woke up to a rainbow out the window. I took some pictures which I will put on here when I am online again.

I really enjoyed breakfast.

The food was good, but the people watching was great! I noticed how so many people are wearing t-shirts and torn jeans (a current style). Nobody was dressed up. Funny how the snob in me has an image of cruises made up of people all dressed up in their elegant finery. When you spend this much money you expect that. But, these trips are probably as practical if not more practical than many vacations. I think one of the reasons I scoffed at cruises for so long is that it seemed frivolous. I am more of a snob that I realized or would like to admit.

Watching the family at a table near us at breakfast was a study in families. A small one, but relatable as the parents dealt with their six kids. The mother ever vigilant watching over her brood. She was constantly aware of who was doing what. Talking to the teen daughters while keeping an eye on the little ones. She didn’t look as totally relaxed as I was. And I felt and remember that feeling. Even a vacation is work. Both parents speaking a different language- it sounded Polish but I was not close enough to tell. The teen daughters speaking American teen. The two youngest required more of their mother’s attention than the others One little girl, I would guess the fifth of the six children had an attitude. She was determined to find everything unfair and not to her liking, When the youngest had a doughnut the little girls crossed her arms and stuck out her bottom lip. Mom tore the doughnut in half and gave the little girl half. The younger child, a little boy didn’t complain. I guess he was used to it.

The multiple languages being spoken is something surprised me a bit. Too many British shows I suspect. They all speak English on those shows. There was a couple at a table near us who I would guess were American. Three Chinese people sat down to share the table. I have scripted them in my head as a couple and someone’s mother. The “mother”, the older woman, sat as the others went for food. The “grandma” studied the white couple as if they were something new and strange. She put her glasses on to look. She lowered her glasses on her nose and looked over them to be sure she of what she was looking at. The couple didn’t seem to notice. I wonder what the older woman was thinking she looked so serious.

It feels like we are “supposed to” be doing something. But we are on vacation. We don’t have to do anything we don’t want to.

I’m trying to decide if I want to take a shower before we hear out again, or not. Tonight, is formal night. That means I will put on the long skirt I got for the occasion and the sparkly shirt I borrowed from my sister. I’ll put on makeup and put hairspray in my hair. Nick will wear slacks and a shirt, tie and jacket. We will all be dressed up and feeling a bit fancy and a bit silly at the same time.

January 25, 2020

Day 3 7:54 pm

Yesterday after breakfast, Nick was not feeling well, so he slept most of the day. I napped some and wandered around some. Had lunch with a retired Foreign Service couple (he was the officer she the spouse) That was fun.

One of the things I did yesterday that seemed like a good idea at the time, was go to the fitness room. I did 10 minutes on the stationary bike, which was fine. Then I did the leg press and the leg curl and boy did I hurt! My right knee was so painful it was even painful to walk with my cane.

Nick was able to get up for dinner and we sat with our table mates. Three people, friends, from Philadelphia. Ken and Aniela are a couple and George is their friend. Very nice with lots of stories.

We went to a pub quiz, but the caller’s English was hard to understand which makes for a difficult trivia quiz.

Saw a stage show “Beatle Mania”. I was excellent!

Today, Saturday we went to a “Meet and Mingle”. I met a guy with a tattoo of his dog’s paw. His dog was 11 years old when he died

Not sure what all we did, but it was a nice restful day with naps between meals.

I love to people watch. With my knee so painful, and needing to use my cane, I found myself thinking “I’m one of those people”. The old, overweight cripples. It’s hard to sit in a chair. It’s hard to get up from a chair. It’s hard to walk. I am overweight as are probably the majority of the people on this cruise.

After a nap (before dinner) my knee was feeling much better and I am walking without my cane for the moment. I know that losing the 100 lbs. I need to lose will make me feel so much better. More mobile and lighter on my feet. That and getting my right knee replaced (and recovering) will be wonderful.

There’s no mistaking my 65-year-old body for my 20 something or 30 something body, or even later. I am starting to understand the quest for the fountain of youth. Not that being younger is so desirable. But the physical changes that come with age and annoying at best and handicapping at worst.

Day 6 11:15 am

January 28, 2020

Yesterday we went to Coco Cay. It’s changed dramatically since 4 years ago when my sister and I were there. It’s a real water park/ amusement park.

We just sat in beach chairs and enjoyed the weather. We each took turns walking to the water to put a toe into the cold water. Lunch was buffet style and a bit chaotic. The wind whipped up and we headed back to the ship. Walking on the beach and also the long walkway to the beach was pretty hard on my knees!

The other night we went to a comedy show that was great. Not sure when we saw the “Love and Marriage” show, but it was really a lot of fun!

This morning we had to get up and leave the ship by 6:45 so we could go through US customs in Florida. Not a terrible hassle but it took a couple of hours.

I really enjoy the people we sit with almost every meal. Dinner we are pretty committed to three people who are friends, traveling together from Pennsylvania. Breakfast and lunch, we never know if we’ll eat alone or share a table. So far, I have enjoyed all of the people we have met.

We’ve been going to the trivia games too. Sometimes we get a person reading the questions who’s first language is NOT English. That can be challenging but it all works out.

Who knew that Nick would be so social!

January 28, 2020

We saw pelicans. Lots of them flying over the boat. Here are a few of the pictures I took.