It’s 2:45 on Tuesday afternoon and we’re just off the coast of Sardinia, Italy, moving southeast toward Tunisia, Africa. Typically I’m up before the kids to write of our previous day’s experiences, but this morning was a bit of a foggy morning. The seas are rough, and I spent much of the night awake, rocking back and forth. Also, I won’t be able to post photos until we arrive in Tunisia, so tomorrow I’ll do a photo-dump of yesterday’s and today’s photos.
Yesterday morning was another lazy morning, as we woke, packed, and I sipped on instant coffee in the room (that’s an offense, in a city with such great coffee, cappuccinos and cafe’ lattes as Barcelona). After we all showered and packed, we dropped our bags at the front desk around noon and left Grayson in the hotel restaurant to complete some schoolwork (which he was not thrilled about having to complete). I almost feel bad for the kids and the new tech available. They don’t have much ability to miss school work or deadlines with the internet. Joel’s got geography, literature and math to complete today. Anyway, Ellanora, Joel & I left Grayson behind and made our way to yet another bakery. Ellanora enjoyed a fresh mango smoothie, while Joel and I opted for more savory options, with a ham and cheese croissant to-go for Gray (and I ordered a cafe’ latte to redeem my morning).
After breakfast we wandered the streets around our hotel, stumbled on yet another beautiful church, and did some window shopping for possible souvenirs. After meeting back up with Grayson, the four of us made our way to the museum of chocolate (walking). With all the walking, I’ve had my ear chewed on a bit about tired legs, but we are enduring! The museum was fun, but probably not somewhere any of us would suggest to others. I had visions of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory when we planned it, complete with tastings…it was a museum of the history of the cocoa bean, much as the name “Museum of Chocolate” suggests. We bought some chocolates at the end of the tour then headed back to the hotel to gather our luggage and catch a cab to the cruise terminal.
The excitement was palpable as we arrived at the ship and crossed the gangway. After seeing our room and moving through the safety drills, we did some exploring before dinner. As we walked by the basketball court, the boys were quickly invited into a pickup game. Ellanora and I watched as they figured out teams and plans with complete language barriers. It was two tall Gentrys, some Italians and Puerto Ricans. I loved seeing them all work out the details with hand signals, and then watching them engage in laughter and legit basketball regardless of the language barrier. There are very few native English speakers on the ship. The food, music, language, and crowds are distinctly Italian. We wanted to experience this Italian culture as we made our way around the Mediterranean, and between all the hand gestures and accentuated language, it’s again as if we’re in a movie. After their short pickup basketball game, we hustled to dress up for dinner, which did not disappoint. We tried beef tartar, sea bass, and wild boar. Unfortunately by the end of dinner, all three kids were a bit woozy as the rocking of the ship wasn’t settling well with them. Ellanora and Grayson recovered enough to join me for an evening show at the theater, but Joel was down, and stayed in bed until this morning.
Much to my chagrin, I caved by mid-morning and got each of them some motion sickness pills. I struggled with this decision, but they were all three struggling to eat breakfast, and were back in bed soon after (I’ve been on a few cruises in my life, and I’ve never seen the seas like this…I keep thinking of Paul in much smaller ships, and the two shipwrecks he endured on these very waters…I’m grateful for the size of our ship!). The pills have changed the day for all of them, and Ellanora and I are about to head up to the top deck to watch the boys in a scheduled basketball tournament. I think Jill would have approved of the motion sickness pills (albeit begrudgingly).
I have asked each of the kids if they think she can see us on this trip, or generally in life. I’ll keep their responses to myself, but needless to say, I’m grateful for the chance to talk about her with them. As for me, I think she can see us…and I think she sees us through eyes of deep love. We’re all talking about her with each other more than we have been. I wonder if it’s because we have so much uninterrupted time together. Maybe it’s because some time has passed and we’re more ready to talk…regardless, I’m grateful to see a bit into their hearts and to talk about her.
Learning to Move Through the World 