This is a photo of Grand Cayman's Sting Ray City. One day I'll post about that and use photos of my own. Incredible experience! And not one that we had on Spring Break 2008.
I'm back! In spite of my belief (not shared by others in my family) that I should be going somewhere for Spring Break, we stayed here. It was fantastic!
Monday: I should have been on the Norwegian Majesty. It would have been a relaxing day at sea. Instead, I finished a couple of freelance projects that shouldn't have spilled over into this week -- and went horseback riding with Lily. I realized that yes, it is okay to be at home and not work.
Tuesday: I should have been putting on my swimsuit and heading to the tenders to catch a ride to Grand Cayman, so far my favorite island (other than Maui, which is just too far). Instead, Lily and I are stripping horse stalls.
That means we are removing all the bedding and manure down to the ground. We even remove some of the ground. Saintly Brother's wife (who is fun rather than saintly) came over to get a truckload of manure. She helped. So did the horses. It wasn't a day spent on a sunny beach, but it was a day of improving weather and wonderful company. And great accomplishment. I hurt all over. My soul is probably happier than if I had been lolling about on a beach.
Wednesday: I should be getting ready to go snorkeling in Cozumel. Instead, I'm putting on the same dirty jeans to go finish the stalls, including getting fresh bedding. And I haul Buddy and Lily out to a place in the country where they have a wonderful ride with an old friend. The day gets prettier by the hour. I start getting ambitious about spring planting. We begin re-organizing the tack room. Saintly Brother's wife comes back for another truckload of manure. So nice to make somebody so happy with, well, manure.
Thursday: I should be relaxing at sea. Probably taking a long walk on the Promenade Deck and watching the porpoises and the flying fish. Or even spotting a sea turtle. Instead, I'm completely lost on what to do about the tack room. We drag everything out in the yard, go to Lowe's to get some additional hooks and storage drawers, and I wonder if it is even possible to straighten out this mess. The weather is beautiful and says, "Plant tomatoes and flowers," but I resist. One thing at a time. To my shock, the tack room begins to take shape. There's still more in the yard than the room, but it's coming. Lily has to go to a piano thing and it's quite a shock to me that the whole family expects to eat supper. I feed them something. I should be deciding which restaurant I want to eat in on the ship. We watch "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." I'm exhausted and sleep really well.
Friday: I should be putting on my comfy walking shoes and getting ready for Key West. Instead, we really do finish up the tack room. More or less. Lily and I are quite happy. We keep going down to the tack room to look at how good it looks, and think of ways to make it better. The temperature hits 81 and we're reminded that summer's coming. We have lots of mother-daughter talks and I am in heaven.
Saturday: We should be coming home from the cruise. And the stalls and the tack room would still be a mess. Instead, I'm already home. But now I get my heart broken. Lily, my fun companion, vacation friend and dear daughter suggests, "Let's see if there are any good movies on."
"Great," I say. I love movies. I especially love to go to movies with her.
"And you can drop (friend's name) and me off there and pick us up later," she says. Not even realizing.
Yes, I'm lucky. I had a week with my newly teenaged daughter and we had a great time and got a lot done. Now, she's just doing her job. She's growing up. That's a blessing, too, though perhaps not one I'm ready for.
Actually, that sounds like a perfect week to me - except for that last part...OUCH!
Kudos to you for not holding against her (my mom STILL brings up all the ways I avoided her and didn't need her when I was a teen.)
Posted by: groovyoldlady | April 01, 2008 at 05:08 PM
I love your 'this is what we should be doing' but 'this is what we are doing' view of Spring Break!
Posted by: We are THAT family | April 02, 2008 at 11:43 AM