Milestones, milestones

In a few days I will go on a journey that will mark some major milestones in my life. First we will be going to orientation and registration at the university in Florida where my daughter, my “little girl”, will attend in the fall. Secondly, shortly after that we’ll climb on board a cruise ship and cruise to a couple of popular spots in the western Caribbean – Grand Cayman Island, and Cozumel Mexico!!

The milestone of taking my daughter to orientation / registration won’t be as emotional and downright traumatic as the even bigger milestone in the fall when her mother and I take her there, drop her off, and come home without her. But just going there this time and experiencing orientation may just be tough enough on us. Even though we have every confidence that God will be there with her this fall, seeing to her safety and well-being it will still be a hard moment to say goodbye to her for a while. Thank God for web cams, and cell phones…we’ll need them I’m sure. Our daughter is strong, mature (somewhat), self-sufficient (again, somewhat), and trustworthy, but being away at college is a huge test of faith though - ours, and hers. It was tough enough back in 2002 when we dropped our son off in California at college – this will be a whole other level of tough, especially for me as the father. There’s nothing like the bond of a father and his “little girl”.

The milestone surrounding the cruise is that it will be the first cruise for my daughter and me. My wife cruised for the first time back in 2005 when she and her former college roommate celebrated their 50th birthdays. They went to The Bahamas for their cruise and had a blast. So my wife will be the veteran cruiser and I’m sure we’ll be counting on her to help answer the many questions we’ll have as the cruise unfolds. As one might imagine, we’re pumped and quite excited about the cruise – it should be a great, great time. I’m especially looking forward to waking up early and getting out to exercise with my wife before the crowds get out of bed (I wonder how many others have the same idea?). The getting up early part doesn’t even compute with my daughter, she’ll get her work-outs in later. I’m hoping that my old body will cooperate and allow me to walk as many miles as I can or want; swim as much as I want; and even shoot some hoops (when the coast is clear of course and there’s no one else there bugging me to play them one on one, which is a huge no-no for me). There’s also miniature golf, table tennis, gambling in the casino, and Bingo to take in while on board the ship.

We’re also quite excited to go snorkeling in Grand Cayman and Cozumel. Both places have some of the world’s best waters for snorkeling. My wife and I were able to take a snorkeling tour off of Cozumel a few years ago and it was just awesome – crystal clear waters, great colorful fish and coral.

So this cruise will mark a big milestone for me – I’ve never wanted to be amongst a large group of tourist within the seemingly tight confines of a cruise ship. Now, however, I can approach this opportunity with a kinder, gentler heart and spirit – so I’m more than ready to enjoy this. There’s nothing like being blessed by God to go thru great experiences with one’s family.