Thursday, December 22, 2011

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Tonight's picture was taken in December of 2003. This was Mattie's second plane trip out to Los Angeles to see my parents. His first trip was in March of 2003, when I had to attend a conference in Anaheim, CA. On this December plane trip, Mattie was a year and a half old and was the center of attention with the flight attendants. They brought him strawberries and cookies from first class. Unfortunately they did not realize he wouldn't eat either of them, and that I was the beneficiary of their kindness. This was a VERY active plane trip in which Mattie and I did non-stop playing, singing, reading, and building (yes I travelled with Lego products even back then!).

Quote of the day: Life is 10% of what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. ~ John Maxwell

It was a very rough night at sea, so rough that neither Peter nor I could sleep. The ship was creaking, rocking, and pitching up and down. It literally did not stop doing this until we entered the port of Aruba close to 7am. Once we docked, I opened up our curtains and this is the sight I saw…. Water with a beautiful mangrove tree growing in the sandbar.

All I can say is that I have a great respect for explorers, our military, deep sea fishermen, or anyone who spends a great time at sea. Because after 48 hours at sea on the ship, having dealt with rough weather and waves, I was thrilled to be docked and to see this mangrove out of our window this morning.

The ship made a very short stop at Aruba today, three hours to be exact. Aruba is located in the southern Caribbean. It is 20 miles long and lies north of Venezuela and east of Colombia. It has a population of 103,000. While native tribes from Venezuela flocked to Aruba as early as 1000 AD Europeans did not discover the island until 1499, with the explorations of Amerigo Vespucci and Alonso de Ojeda. After years of colonial rule, it was not until 1986 that Aruba became its own country, although it still remains a Dutch protectorate.

We took the three hour on land opportunity to walk around the capital of Aruba, Oranjestad. There were two large cruise ships in port today, and between us and the other ship, close to 4000 people transcended upon the Island. Yet somehow it works and naturally you can imagine that the shop keepers are thrilled to see all of us, since we are their main source of income. Peter snapped a picture of my mom and me in front of both cruise ships.

The main street of Oranjestad is called L. G. Smith Blvd and as you can see there is a definite Dutch architectural flair to the city.

This beautiful pink building is actually part of a shopping complex. It looks very different from our malls at home. Shopping in Aruba, like most Caribbean islands, is an art form. Mainly because all price tags are negotiable and really do need to be bickered and haggled over. This is not something that we are used to doing in the States, and therefore this isn’t second nature to us. However, once you get the hang of it, and also understand that everything is already significantly marked up, then it is easier to find the inner strength to advocate for a fair price. Despite what one may think, the US Dollar is still sought after and if it comes to making a sale or not making a sale, most store owners find a way to meet your price requests (assuming they are reasonable!).

While walking, this sight in a store window captured my attention. I entitled this picture…. Boston in Aruba. My theory is the Red Sox, and most Boston teams, have a way of uniting people NO MATTER where they are in the world. It is an instant commonality.

Once the ship sailed away today, we had lunch and then went to our second ballroom dancing class to learn to waltz. Though my mom and I know the basic waltz steps, we learned many more new steps to add to the basic box step. We have also gotten to know the dance instructors. The male instructor reminds me of Billy Crystal with white hair, and his significant other and I got to chatting today. I think the instructors are getting a kick out of me, since I am learning the male steps, so I can dance with my mom. In fact, I got a compliment from the female instructor letting me know that she thought I was a good “male dancer.” She meant this as a compliment since in ballroom dancing the male always leads. It is not easy learning to be the male in a dance partnership, because my natural instinct is obviously to learn the female steps.

We were involved in several other activities aboard the ship today, from bingo to watching a production show this evening. In the midst of these adventures, we are seeing a lot of children. In fact one seven year old boy was standing right besides us as we were waiting on line to enter the dining room. Observing him and what he was talking about and interested in, hit me hard. It is reality moments like this, which cause us to stop, pause, reflect, and absorb who is missing from our life, and how our world has been transformed. Naturally I can’t help but feel different from others, but I am also very aware of the fact that others can’t possibly comprehend the magnitude of this loss for us, how challenging the holidays are for us, or how painful it is to see and hear about other children. Tomorrow we head to Cartagena, Colombia, a part of the world NONE of us have ever seen before, and I look forward to sharing this new experience with you.