Yes. It's my birthday today. I'm 74. I can remember when my mother was 74. She was old. I don't feel old. Actually I don't feel young, but I don't feel old. All my friends are 74 (or more or less). We seem to be content with our lives. We're very lucky - compared with others around the world, in the USA.
I could go on and on about this, but I got to admit, to everyone - that I had the grandest of birthdays.
My husband took me on a cruise.
That's right. We went on a 5 night cruise from Miami, on the Norwegian Pearl to Key West and Cozumel. We had a balcony - that's something that we've never done before, and I have to admit, it made our time very nice.
One thing we hadn't counted on was:
SPRING BREAK
That's right. I had forgotten that. . . . somewhere a long time ago . . . . I'd heard that quite a few colleges close up shop when, March 17th, St. Patrick's Day, is upon us, so that they don't have to deal with the student body. And of course, we left on Sunday, the 16th and came in on Friday, yesterday. There were hundreds of college kids all over.
But, wouldn't you know - the kids made it extra special. It was such fun to look at the beautiful girls and the handsome guys (with all the bare-chested testosterone showing). The girls had magnificent outfits - long, short, some - practically nothing at all (bathing suits, sort of, under lacy cover-ups).
We had a group of 3 or 4 guys in the cabin next to ours, and we would talk back and forth over the railing usually during cocktail hour. They were most polite. "Are you having a good time?" "Where are you from?" "Did you have a good day in Key West? Cozumel?" After a while, we thought of them as Our Guys. As in. . . I hope Our Guys made it back to the ship. Or . . . It sounds as if Our Guys are having a good time. They did get rambunctious, but nothing we couldn't handle. And besides. . .
The restaurants weren't crowded at all because the kids all went to the buffets for all their meals - and then to the nightclubs later on. And out at the pool sunning themselves.
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Getting back to our cabin - the cabins with balconies are larger than the inside ones we had before.
They have a little loveseat in the cabin, and a sliding glass door to the balcony - with two deck chairs and a little table. - There was a glass screen that didn't obstruct the view in front of the chairs and a privacy wall between the cabins on either side. It was nice to come back to the cabin and know there always was a chair for us to sit down on, or we could sit on the loveseat, or lie on the bed. The bathroom was a little larger also. It was a really nice spot to spend time. Oops. I don't mean bathroom. . . I meant stateroom.
We didn't do much touring when we got off the boat. We did go on a bus tour of Key West and we could have gotten off the bus at several places, but we didn't. We took the full tour of an hour and a half and when we completed "the circle" we ended up where we started and had a cool drink, and then we took another bus and went back to the ship.
I was glad that Paul got to see Key West. He'd never been there, but I'd been there at least 20 years ago with Bob, Sue (his late wife), and my mother. I wanted Paul to see it. It's changed a lot - I remember other things when we first went, 20 years ago. But it was fun. He said it reminded him of Savannah. I could see that. We'd both been to Cozumel before. There's not much there, but a lot of stores. I did a little shopping. Not much.
We docked across the way from Disney's Fantasia ship. My friends from college, Carol and John, had taken their children and grandchildren on a Disney ship, so I had something to think about.
We noticed a couple, about our age, waving at us, and she had an infant in her arms, so I surmised that the little girl's parents were somewhere nearby. We waved back. Low and behold . . . . whom do we see down in Cozumel? But the same couple with the little girl and her parents. They wanted to know all about our trip, and said they'd also sailed on the Norwegian Pearl and loved it.
We were really tired when we got home yesterday, but it certainly was a grand time. I have such a wonderful husband. He cooked a steak dinner for me today and we invited Bill and Epril. They'd taken care of Gracie for us again. This time . . . . they "painted" her green for St. Patrick's day. (Not really . . . they photo-shopped (?) an image of her and made her green.) Remember. . . . last time, Bill put her in a pot, and said "we're having Gracie for dinner."
When we got home yesterday, I got a nice e-mail from my friend Barbara wishing me a Happy Birthday and saying how much she's enjoying my blog. I do hear from Barbara every so often.
Barbara and her husband Dick were friends of my former husband and me when we lived on Long Island. They retired and have been living in Vermont for several years. It's been a cold winter for everyone and they're looking forward to Spring. It was so good to hear from her. Dick has a birthday soon - so Happy Birthday, Dick!
Thanks for stopping by, Carol O. and Alice. That was so nice. I appreciate all the love and support and birthday hugs. And Bob is on the east coast for his grandson, Bert's, wedding. Yes. He's being married on my birthday. All of Bob's family that can, will be there - Jon, Paul, Bob's grandchildren - Nicole, Elizabeth and Bert, of course.
Bob called me to wish me a Happy Birthday, and said he should be home tomorrow or Monday. As you know, he's been in Alpharetta visiting his son Jon's family for three weeks. We miss him. It'll be good to have him back here with us.
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