She is Still My Little Girl

I used to hear my mother lament over how we were growing up so fast and had no idea what she was talking about. Waiting was agony, and I was never going to be as old as my sister. It is strange that how becoming a mother has helped me understand this more every year; and how quickly the years go by!

As a young girl, I used to fantasize about my own prince charming, trotting in on a white horse and scooping me up for a “Happily Ever After”. At some point, I traded my fairy wings for a leather bomber jacket and moved the dolls out of the way for more shoe space. I altered my must have “steed” to “driver’s license”, and fussed about a tulle and beads only once for prom.

Now I have three daughters of my own. Thankfully, they are much better examples of responsibility than I ever demonstrated as a young woman. But even seeing them bloom into beautiful people does not soften the painful blow that they are growing up. My oldest daughter is headed into her senior year of high school. I don’t know where the years went, but preparing for her graduation has prompted me to cling onto the youngest child with an unchallenged fervor.

At eight years old, my youngest daughter behaves like a typical third grader who still needs to be bargained with to take a bath and doesn't mind eating gummy bears found in the bottom of her backpack. It was last year, however, that she announce she no longer liked princesses. With two older sisters to live up to, I should not have been so shocked. In one day, she stopped watching Beauty and the Beast, and became a huge fan of Hannah Montana. How did this happen? I wasn’t ready to stop shopping for dolls! I became intensely aware of why a grown-up collect toys. And to make matters worse, we were preparing a holiday vacation to Walt Disney World, in which all my imaginative experiences had to shift.

I looked through my Passporter planner, and turned to Day 4 which reflected all of my notes for the Magic Kingdom. I touched the page where I had boldly written in my confirmation number for a coveted morning appointment at the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique. This was where I had planned to celebrate life’s gift: little girls. At the time of the phone call, I knew how surprised and excited my littlest girl would be to find out she would be transformed into a princess. I had spent hours shopping for the perfect princess dress in blue, her favorite color. I was saddened to think that I was the only one who would be giggling with joy that morning, yet for whose satisfaction?

As a mother, I have lived through many experiences that enforce the well known phrase, “Pick your battles”. Her need to grow up was so important to her. Was I going to ignore the fact she made a point to tell me about her change in preferences? For a couple of weeks, I tried to pretend that she must have been having a bad day and would quickly return to her childish senses, but she seemed to emphasize this new distaste for the Disney Princesses by reminding me each time she noticed a toy or clothing item in the stores with their faces imprinted. As my last child, it was a cruel reality. All the fun years of having little girls was coming to an end, and soon I would have three teen/ pre-teen women running my house.

Thank goodness for cable television. Her switch to the Disney channel had brought with it some fantastic marketing for Walt Disney World attractions. At dinner one night, she mentioned the BBB. I couldn’t believe my ears, so I asked her if she wanted to go. Rather coy, she explained that although she didn’t like the Disney princesses anymore, the boutique would dress HER up as a princess. I could tell she was working through her own dilemma, and was reminded what the best thing I can do when there is a challenge in our family: talk about it. So we planned for the event together.

Although I had wanted to surprise my daughter with the appointment, it was much more fun to be excited about it as a mother and daughter. She loved the dress I had ordered for her. The deluxe Cinderella gown was more beautiful and detailed than it had appeared online. We even picked out a Minnie Mouse dress to wear on another day as well. We were both so excited that I couldn’t complain about how much space she was using in her suitcase to bring her costumes on the trip.

The Bibbity Bobbity Boutique delivered exactly what they promised, and transformed my little girl into a princess. They were very impressed with her gown, as it was more exquisite than anything offered in the store. Sitting back and watching her make decisions about her make up and hair was even more revealing that she is going to be a teenager soon. She selected blond extensions, just as Miley Sirius wears a blond wig. I drank in the event to keep the image vivid in my memory. For the rest of the day, she was receptive to the royal attention received by all the cast members in the park, and would curtsey when greeted with “your highness”. It was so much fun that she asked to wear the dress again later in the week.

Reminiscing our experience is almost bitter sweet. I wish I could be there now. But far more important are the memories I have. Each year, the children will change, sometimes beyond recognition. The excitement of planning our next adventure is already upon me. I know I will cherish today and the days that have yet to come, and for that reason I work to stay aware of who they are and what they want to be.

Freedom of the Seas: 10th Anniversary Adventure- Part Three

BOARDING and SAIL AWAY

There we were, on the ship, wondering what to do first. All the months of planning came to this moment, and I vowed not to forget my excitement. Hungry as usual, Paul insisted that we find something to eat. The ship’s buffet, The Windjammer, was open to passengers awaiting entry to their rooms. We found a table right away, and before long Mike and Kelly joined us for lunch. This restaurant has a beautiful 180 degree view of the city.

This eatery was what I had expected. There was an impressive amount of food, yet the quality was mediocre. There was a nice selection of fruit and salad, yet we were especially disgusted by the heaps of hamburger patties and hot dogs on heated rollers offered as a main course for lunch. The service was prompt, especially for a buffet. Dana was able to sign up for the wine and dine package right from the table, which saved her some money when selecting her wine from a limited wine list throughout the week. The best part about eating at the Windjammer is that your meal is immediate and everyone finds something they can eat. It is also very close to the pool deck, which proved convenient throughout the week to grab a lemonaide or iced tea on my way to the solarium.

Regardless of our first dining experience, little could abate my excitement about being onboard. After a cocktail, I had nothing to complain about. I was on my vacation.










We found our suite, #1590 on deck 10, early that afternoon. I was immediately surprised by the "Happy Anniversary" decor. Dana had arranged for this, as well as a bottle of my favorite wine and a bouquet of tropical flowers.

Paul wasted no time in trying out the bed for a well earned nap. In the meantime, I changed into my swimsuit (1 of 5 I had brought) and made my way to the Solarium, an adults only area on the pool deck. This area was a daily respite for me with the comfortable loungers and quiet company. Before long, I was joined by all my travel friends as we shared laughs and cocktails in the warm sun.

Our suite steward met with us shortly before the muster, and opened the sliding door that separated our patio from Dana and Brian’s. This allowed us to have a large shared space. As a group, the six of us waved good bye to Miami. It was interesting the see the number of people parked near the channel, seemingly there to admire the ships leaving port. Before long, the shoreline disappeared and we were on our way to Haiti.

Freedom of the Seas: 10th Anniversary Adventure- Part Two

THE JOURNEY TO

To save time and money, I booked the redeye flight from our home town airport in Eugene, Oregon, to Miami. This got us into Florida the morning our cruise was scheduled to depart. From my experience cruising before, I knew that waiting at the cruise port too early in the morning would make for a miserable day. Luckily, our travel friends had arrived a day early and were gracious enough to invite us to spend some time in their room at the Embassy Suites-Miami Airport Hotel.

After a delay in Eugene airport, as usual, we frantically changed planes in Portland and met with Mike and Kelly, the other travel couple, in the Seattle airport. I really love SEATAC airport. Anthony's has great fish tacos- and you can get the same plate offered in the restaurant from the take out area for half the price. There is great shopping and dining. You can feel the pride of the Northwest beauty in the art and architecture throughout the building. We started our party with margaritas at a mini version of Chili's restaurant near the gate. It was exciting and surreal to realize that we were finally on our way.

The flight was faster than expected with a strong tail wind and onboard entertainment. We were fortunate and had an empty seat on our row, so I spent most of the night re-arranging myself in different sleep positions while Paul kept a stoic stare at the TV monitor. Upon arrival in Miami, Mike and Kelly left with a driver they had pre-arranged through their travel agent. We had the unfortunate experience of realizing that a piece of our luggage did not make it off the plane with us. This was sincerely disappointing, as it contained all of our toiletries and medications. Luckily, Paul had the foresight to put his prescriptions in his backpack, as they would have been difficult to replace on such short notice. We spent some time with baggage agents who assured us that they would do everything to get our bag delivered to us at one of our ports. I had little faith in this promise after a lost luggage experience over the Christmas holiday, but that is another story.

Irritated and tired, we arrived at Embassy Suites around 8:00am to meet up with Dana and her husband, Brian. They had managed a good night sleep and their enthusiasm was refreshing, considering our mood after the dilemma in the airport. The hotel staff was happy to help us with our request for a toothbrush even without a current reservation. We purchased several much needed sundry items in the gift shop for a horrendous amount. However, I am not comfortable borrowing deodorant from any friend, and was uncomfortable with spending time searching for a local drug store. I had plenty of time to shower, change and re-arrange items to ensure I would have access to my bathing suit and other necessities before luggage would arrive in my room onboard.

The hotel serves a complimentary breakfast, including cereal, fruit, yogurt, pastries as well as cook to order omelets and other hot food. The eatery was located in the main atrium of the hotel, which is a beautiful tropical environment that includes a lovely pond with coy, lush plants and Mediterranean décor. They were happy to feed us, even as guests to another patron.



Dana and Brian surprised us by arranging limousine transportation from the hotel to the cruise port. We stepped out of the lobby around 11:00am with our luggage to find a stretch hummer waiting for us. I felt like a rock star, cruising through Miami, sipping champagne on the way to the cruise ship. We were immediately met by helpful porters who unloaded our luggage and ensured it was properly marked for room delivery.

Embarkation was almost a non-stop process. We entered the building and scrambled to retrieve our passports and boarding documents in time to get onto the escalators, through security and a series of check points. We stopped at one point to wait for Dana and Brian, and spotted a family wearing matching tie-dye t-shirts. Jokingly, I mentioned to Paul that they must be from Oregon. Overhearing me, the man responded that they were indeed from Bend. What are the chances? As suite guests, there was a designated line that took us to a boarding agent immediately. After taking a picture for our seapass account, we were handed a number and asked to be seated until our group was called to continue. At this point, I called Mike and Kelly to find out they were actually behind us. After maybe ten minutes, we were up again and making our way towards the ship. The line to board was only slowed by passengers getting their picture taken. By noon, we were finally onboard!

Freedom of the Seas: 10th Anniversary Adventure Part One-

THE PLAN
When my husband and I began to plan for our 10th wedding anniversary, we had barely been married for 8 years. Early in our relationship, we had promised each other to do something spectacular, like travel to Australia by the time we were married a decade. When the suggestion to take a cruise came up, it didn’t compare to some of our other ideas. After all, a cruise seems like a pre-packaged vacation with little room for creativity or spontaneity. In reality, we are rather predictable people. The more research I did, the more a cruise ship looked like an ideal way to spend a week away from the day-to-day responsibilities that running a business, working full time and taking care of a three daughters has to offer.

We had taken a four night cruise in 2005 to celebrate our 7th anniversary. I was very skeptical of cruising prior to this. What can a person expect when they are stuck on a ship with a thousand retired people and an all-you-can-eat mentality? More fat and wrinkles than I care to deal with. But the Majesty of the Seas, operated by Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, was a wonderful way to visit the Bahamas. This four night journey led to our decision to try a week long itinerary to the Western Caribbean on the world’s largest cruise ship.

The Freedom of the Seas, also a Royal Caribbean ship, was built to keep up with the Joneses. Apparently there is a desperate struggle between cruise companies to offer the most extravagant accommodations and activities onboard. We were happy to benefit from their competitive efforts.

I made the reservation for our junior suite in October of 2006. Within minutes of hanging up the phone, my dear friend Dana was reserving the suite next door. She had been listening to me lament over the choices I had when selecting our itinerary. There were so many to choose from. I was concerned about the size of the ship, considering the number of occupants. More people meant longer waits for just about everything. There was also the matter of ports. The Eastern Caribbean is so alluring with it mountains, blue water and European influence. However the Eastern route on this ship left on different dates and I wanted to spend my anniversary onboard. For years, Paul and I have offset our anniversary, rationalizing a major repair or purchase for the home as our “anniversary gift.” For this event, I wanted to wake up on May 2 and be on vacation. We had liked Cozumel when we stayed a week in 2004, and the other Western ports sounded beautiful.

In this process, we had also decided to invite our friends along. In fact, we told just about everyone we know to book a room onboard, if they could. The fact that the ship holds over 3000 passengers meant we were going to be around other people. We might as well know some of them. In the end, only two other couples booked the cruise with us.

For the next 18+ months, I spent countless hours researching everything I could find about our ship and itinerary. I exhausted Paul at times with questions regarding his preference:
“Do you want to go fishing in Jamaica or Cozumel?”
“Are you interested in specialty dining onboard for an additional cost?”
“Should we bring on our own alcohol or pay premium prices for mixed drinks and shots?”
The answers were usually direct, but I detected some irritation and often bit my lip and saved questions for a single conversation, rather than a daily topic. I intentionally avoided too much ‘cruise chat’ with him until shortly before our vacation.

Dana, on the other hand, became a constant resource for cruise conversation. It was a delight to have a travel mate who was as enthusiastic about the cruise as I was to talk to, and we spent many evenings on the phone going over ideas and travel options. We also took several shopping trips together, sometimes out of town, to ensure we were fully prepared for our tropical adventure.

I used online resources, and quickly found cruisecritic.com, where I joined a forum of other passengers planning to cruise on the same itenirary. We chatted daily, and made plans to meet onboard.

As the day of travel approached, I was grateful I had put so much thought in deciding what to wear each day. Aside from the expected heat of the region, I had taken into account our daily activities, as well as suggested dining apparel for the formal dining room onboard. As an avid land traveler, I am usually staying in a resort suite that includes a washer and dryer. Without this amenity in our stateroom, I did not want to risk wearing dirty clothes. My packing list became an evolving piece of research and art. I carried it with me to add items as they would randomly come to mind.

With our luggage ready to go, we did our best to get out of our house on time as planned. The three children, dog, cat, 9 turtles, lizard, 7 chickens, 50 snakes and thousands of rats were left in in good faith with Paul's Dad. Onboard, there is no simple way of reaching us. I wasn't sure if we would make it out the door on time, with all the last minute things to do. Upon checking in at the airport, we checked out from worrying about what we might have forgotten. A nice lunch and a glass of red wine was just what I needed to start my adventure.