1. true friends are ones that you can go several months without seeing, but pick right back up immediately when together again.
2. even better friends are ones you can be with for several days and not get sick of each other.
it's a sign of maturity to know when to back off and navigate the moods of 4 people stuck together for a few days.
3. i understand the addiction of the deep blue sea. why people cruise as often as they can. why sailors love the sea more than a woman. why poetry and songs have been written about it. why key west has a daily party for the sunset. why people give up their "real life" to be a tour guide in a tropical location.
4. people are people everywhere. people are not americans everywhere. i'm not comfortable playing the role of the "rich white american" in other countries. i do love traveling and learning about other places.
5. man is still vulnerable to nature. our water was a bit choppy on the return trip. we were on a ship that was the largest in the world when it was built. it has stabilizers and is built for luxury. you're not intimidated by the ocean...until a few "small" waves are rocking that huge ship. and we're not even out in the true open sea. we were just cutting across the gulf of mexico. a large storm can still overcome even an unsinkable ship easily.
6. your 2 year old is ok with grandma and grandpa. really. and grandma and grandpa are great to take care of her. i'm pretty proud of myself for not worrying about her or even thinking about her all the time.
7. we're not poor. of course, in the world's view, no american is poor. but we're blessed even by american standards. we managed to save up enough money to afford a cruise, transportation there, a couple excursions and even a few extras on board. all this without a 2nd full income.
8. some people are gluttons. we ran into a few people who were constantly, obnoxiously drunk. there was a guy seated near us at dinner who must have thought the "included" meals truly meant "free." we watched him each night have 2-3 appetizers followed by 2 main entrees, not to count dessert. there's enjoying luxury and being pampered, and then there's just plain excess. have some class.
9. let vacation be vacation. i feel i've done a good job this time in enjoying the trip we've had rather than wishing i could live there. we had a few days in a beautiful location, followed by the beauty of rolling farmland with the leaves near peak in ohio when i picked up alena. i was able to soak in both these scenes and still walk contently in my home in TN. the holidays are about to start and i'm excited about it.
10. it's always worth it to take time to enjoy life. it would be easy to get caught up in day to day life and always say "someday, i'm going to..." but we started planning for this in february. it took some time to save up and plan for it. but at the end of my life, i want tons of memories like these. i'm off to a good start. life is good.
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