Two Kinds of People

Is there anything better than a great vacation? The only thing I can think of is gloating about it to people who have to stay behind and work. So allow me a moment of self-indulgence. What a great week!

Spent the week on the Carnival Ecstasy. Would get up (whenever we wanted) and head to a glorious breakfast where I ordered pancakes with sausage and a side of Lucky Charms. Spent the morning by the pool, cavorting with the kids on a huge water slide, and hopping in the hot tub. Then there was the lunch buffet.

In the afternoon we would take a dance lesson, play bingo or trivia (won at trivia, lost at bingo), and even gamble. That's right, I took twenty bucks to gamble. I played blackjack, which I never have before. Walked away after an hour and a half with seventy-one dollars.

(This brings me to an aside: there are certain people you don't want to go on a cruise with. The first is the party pooper-someone who complains about it being too hot by the pool, gripes constantly about the service, spends much of their time in their room watching TV. The second is the moralizer-they constantly point out the drinking, gambling, and old men in Speedos, as if they didn't know this was a cruise, and don't tell them about the twenty dollars you brought for blackjack. Finally, there is the financial analyst-every activity, meal and moment is compared and contrasted with the amount of money spent to determine its' value and a constant judgement is rendered about whether you are getting your money's worth. I'm not saying these aren't good people, or can't be great friends. These are simply the kind of people that could turn a wonderful cruise into a complete drag. So pick your cruise buddies wisely. This is the kind of stuff you think about when ordering the complimentary room service at midnight and eating your fourth dessert of the day.)

In the evenings our kids went to these really cool activities with other kids while we enjoyed an elegant dinner. Our good friends Chuck and Lauren Sparks joined us for many of these meals. The waiter we had was wonderful because he always brought me extra appetizers and a second dessert. Then we would enjoy a show, or karaoke, or live music. By the way, all of my description leaves out most of what we did as I am only trying to paint a picture.

Sounds wonderful right? The only problem was we couldn't get off the boat. Our cruise was to take us to Progresso and Cozumel. But we happened to have cruised during international swine flu week. The height of government fears about this disease occurred right as we were headed into ports in Mexico. So, we were forced to stay on board.

Now, I didn't like this for two reasons. One, my natural distrust of media and government "crisis" talk was going off like a siren. I knew this couldn't be as bad as they were predicting, and sure enough the week we return, swine flu goes from a "crisis" to barley being mentioned. The second and bigger reason was I wanted to go to Progress and Cozumel. I wanted to walk the beach and eat authentic Mexican food. I wanted my kids to have their first visit to a foreign country. I wanted to barter for little trinkets and vanilla. But it was not to be. The cruise line refunded our port fees and any shore excursion you may have purchased. And we sailed out to find sun and good weather in the gulf of Mexico.

On board there appeared to be exactly two reactions to the news that we would not be landing in Mexico. One group of people were upset. The wanted to get off. They felt disappointed. Then they moved on and made the best of it. They enjoyed the great weather and all the amazing food. Visited the midnight buffet, learned to line dance, and generally had a really good time.

The other group was also upset. However, they never got over it. They yelled at the cruise director, almost as if Carnival had intentionally infected Mexico with swine flu simply to ruin their vacation. They constantly mentioned that we should be getting off the boat. And when we ported back in Galveston a few hours early, they got off rather than enjoy the remaining meals and entertainment (which they had already paid for).

A basic principle of life was writ large on that boat, a lesson for which I need constant reminding. We are not in control of many of the circumstances in which we find ourselves, but we are always in control of how we respond. Swine flu did not ruin any one's vacation. We were not sick, we were safe, and the closest we came to swine was some smothered pork chops and bacon. But many people's vacations were ruined, but only by themselves.

Imagine if I told you that I had planned for you the week described above. Most people I know would say "sign me up". But how many things have to not go perfect to ruin it for us. The only disappointment comes when what we want, and especially what we think we deserve, doesn't come to pass. Then we become selfish, rude and pretty sorry to be around.

But what did I do to deserve any of this. Do I deserve this wonderful family? Did I invent and design and build a cruise ship for myself? What did I do to even merit an extra dessert? Nothing. So I should be thankful, grateful, pleased as punch with what I got. Could the cruise have been better? You bet. But it could have been worse. Rather than being on a cruise enjoying myself, I could have been in a hospital in Mexico watching someone I love die from a mysterious illness.

So this week I sail on in life, a little more tan, a little bit heavier, and a lot more grateful.