When I last left you, I said that I thought I was finally recovering from the illness I picked up on the Ruby Princess. Yeah, that was definitely wishful thinking on my part. It’s true that I was “back among the living”…sort of, and willing myself to get through the days, but the reality is that I remained ill for four months in total. Summer 2022 for me was a slog fest of appointments with doctors and specialists, and tests and procedures and urgent care and emergency room visits. I had a temperature well over 100° for weeks at a time, a never-ending headache and a nagging cough so pervasive that I couldn’t talk on the phone, and relied on texting to communicate with my husband seated 3 feet away.
Then, in late July, I was also diagnosed with shingles, though my two Shingrex vaccines prevented me from getting as sick as many do from that wicked illness. Simply stated, my body was toast. The consensus of the medical community was that I had long COVID, without ever testing positive. But, in the end, it doesn’t matter what kind of virus I had. I was hella sick, and then, finally, I wasn’t. I really think the anti-viral medication I took for shingles turned everything around, so that added whammy was actually a blessing in disguise.
But not being actively sick is not the same as being healthy, and the process of rebuilding my stamina took many more months. I *think* I can say that I am finally feeling strong enough to travel again, though a simple trip back to Ohio to see Mom in May was surprisingly draining. It’s key on this trip for me to pace myself and stay well. Fingers crossed.
Still, while my world seemed permanently stuck in neutral, life thankfully moved on around me, and I participated as much as I could. G racked up his 35th and 36th Vail Hill Climbs, the first one just three months after having COVID on the Ruby Princess, and again earlier this month. He is simply amazing, and one of the most determined people I know. This year’s course was a 7.8 miles run with 2200 feet of elevation gain, and he completed it with no issues at all. I’m just a smidge proud.
Not for the faint of heart…or out of shape!
For every email I receive from readers asking how we’re doing, I get two asking for an update about my mom. My visit with Mom for Mothers Day marked my first time seeing her in almost 20 months, way too long. I adore my visits with her, and have never stopped wishing she lived closer so they could be more frequent. Sadly, less than two weeks after I left her, she had a fall, and celebrated her 92nd birthday in the hospital. She has moved to a different area of her same community to get the additional assistance she needs, hopefully just temporarily, but she is happy and enjoying all the creative activities they offer, so my brothers and I are gratefully relieved about that. I have another trip planned to see her just a couple of weeks after I return home from the Sapphire Princess. Must. Stay. Well!!
Mom, on the left with her bestie “Meme”.
Two of the strongest women I know.
In the midst of our worries about Mom, our house was in the path an EF-1 tornado that still has us asking, “What the heck was that?” In the 35 years we’ve lived here, we’ve never experienced a tornado. In fact, our community doesn’t even have tornado sirens because, as a local official helpfully explained, we don’t have tornadoes. Luckily, the weather apps on our phones notified us just minutes before it hit, but instead of running for the basement, we stood mesmerized and watched out the windows as the roof over one end of our 40 foot deck lifted just enough to blow out a support post, taking out two sections of railing (it’s 9 feet off the ground). And then we watched in disbelief as all of our deck furniture and flower pots blew off the open end of the deck and landed…well, pretty much everywhere. Two weeks after the tornado hit, the neighborhood Facebook pages were still full of posts with lost and found deck furniture and other outdoor items. Fortunately, because we had only 100 mph winds, the majority of the damage was limited to over 15000 downed trees, and lots of fence, deck and roof damage. We went from being Tree City USA to Stump City to Mulch City in the course of a week. It will be several more months before the damage is totally cleaned up, though I’ve grown kind of fond of the mangled detritus of backyard trampolines still littering the sides of roads, offering a modern sculpture kind of aesthetic.
Despite Mom’s fall and the tornado, June wasn’t a total loss, with a certain basketball team winning the NBA Championship for the first time in franchise history. The Broncos never launched last season, but Title Town still reigns supreme. Our excitement level was off the charts and we loved every minute of that wild ride.
Finally, you might remember that McGee and McGuy had graduated high school and started college last year. I’ll admit, that was an big adjustment for all of us. Worst was that McGee, at a military service academy, really went to the dark side of the moon for six weeks as he had to give up his phone during basic training. Thus began my daily short letters, encouragements, jokes, and news from home sent by snail mail, which for today’s kids is kind of a new concept. McGee’s letters back were like bandaids for all of our hearts. He survived what will probably be the hardest year of his life, handling the tough academic load (he took Arabic!) and military challenges while being a three season intercollegiate athlete.
I may have worried constantly about McGee but I found that I missed McGuy even more, because his visits home were so few and far between. He is loading up his academic schedule hoping to get both his bachelor and masters degrees in four years, while earning academic honors all along the way. I’m just a little proud of these guys, too. After 19 years of togetherness, simply being with both of them at the same time (a rare occurrence now, especially during the academic year) makes my heart so very happy.
And I’m 5’10”!
While I was unwilling to set foot on a cruise ship last winter, I encouraged G to take advantage of low solo fares to do “simple” cruising out of US ports. Between his cruises last year and this year, he now has nearly 200 more Princess days than I do, which means that I will never again have a chance of being the most traveled passenger on a cruise ship.😆 I’m glad he didn’t feel he had to stay home just because that’s where I wanted to be, and MedallionNet WiFi allowed him to stay in touch with me all day, every day while he was away.
And how disinclined was I to cruise? I specifically remember one December day when it was minus 18F here (it sounds even colder in Celsius, minus 28!) and G phoned me from Grand Cayman where it was 83F, and, hand to heart, my first thought was, “I’m so glad I’m not on that ship!” I guess that leaves little doubt about how I was feeling a few months ago. Still, I never ruled out an occasional cruise, and am dipping a toe in the water to see if it goes well.
I’m thankful we traveled as we did for ten years, and I wouldn’t take anything for all those memories, but when the heart is no longer in it, it simply isn’t. I know I’ve said in the past that, as much as I enjoyed extended cruising, our lives basically revolved around getting ready to be away for months at a time and recovering from being gone. I guess I now need to feel a bit more connected to life at home through volunteer activities and supporting the people I care about however I can.
I still love reading other cruisers’ blogs (friend Deb is cruising four months without her husband right now, and I’m following her excellent blog daily), and I enjoy watching travel vlogs, but I’ve become fairly selective about which trips I want to take myself. Naturally, the fact that we’ve already seen so much of the world is a big factor. While there are certainly places I’d return to again and again (Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific top the list), I’m a little less willing to spend the money to do expensive repeats. My savings for an Antarctica expedition cruise has been in place for years, but, frankly, after a friend was burned when Vantage Deluxe Ocean travel went bankrupt earlier this year and Crystal Cruises went a similar way, I’m still being extra cautious about having large amounts on deposit with any travel company. We may find ourselves on the Sapphire in Antarctica this winter, a different kind of trip than I was hoping for, but it is one option we are considering. Again, so much depends on how the next two weeks go.
On the Sapphire Princess, I am most looking forward to escaping life’s current stresses, taking in some amazing scenery…and enjoying the drinks and juices that Princess Plus package provides. Oh, and chicken korma. If the galley gods are smiling on me, chicken korma will appear on one lunch menu to take the place of my meal that was interrupted by Medical on the Ruby Princess. 😆 G is counting on bringing me back another salmon from a fishing excursion in Ketchikan. Simple goals that I hope are successfully met. Let the toe dipping begin!