A Vacation Throwback

Yesterday was a day lost to me. I took my very first sick day (from my daycare) yesterday.

The stomach bug that my four-year-old daycare charge brought into our home on Monday hit (at least) five of us within a 36 hour period.

I slept around the clock and then some. I honestly thought that I must be making a mountain out of a mole hill when I was still in bed at 3:00 in the afternoon. I had a bath, got dressed and assumed that I would be on my way. But I was depleted. I made it to the couch.

By 9:00 p.m., I thought that I was being ridiculous. I hadn't had a bite of nourishment all day. That is why the exhaustion levels were so high. That was when I remembered my 'last meal' on my cruise. Green apples and crackers.

I was in the throes of seasickness when my friend brought back a most special treat from the chef's kitchen. Granny Smith apples and crackers. Never have either tasted so good.

I smiled to myself as I bit into that first bite of apple last night. It took me back to a happy place. My Alaskan cruise holiday...

As people talk about vacations all around the world, I sit back quietly and I am happy that they are happy with their adventures. Each and every time, I silently hope that they had (or have) as good of a a time as I did when I went on my Alaskan adventure.

I am so incredibly grateful that I took advantage of the opportunities to go on a few extra curricular holidays when life opened up those possibilities. Do I long to do it all over again? In a word ... "no".

I savored the moments while I lived them. I packed up my memories in words or pictures or little moments that were imprinted in my heart.

I live a simple life full of ordinary things. But I think that it is a great gift when something as simple as a stomach flu can take me back to the vacation-of-a-lifetime. Simply by remembering the advise of a very thoughtful waiter. "Granny Smith apples and crackers" are what he lived on while his body acclimatized itself to his career on the open seas.

All I need to remember now, is to keep some ginger ale on hand to go along with those apples and crackers when the need arises. I can easily recreate my 'last supper' on my Alaskan cruise holiday. I just need a little dose of seasickness on the side.