Cruising the Western Caribbean with Norwegian Cruise Lines and my Momma

I’ve been thinking about writing this post since I got back from the cruise. What did I want to focus on? The ship? The excursions? The food? After thinking about it for a couple of weeks I decided to focus on something completely different – my mom. This trip was the first week long cruise my mom had ever been on and it was the first REAL vacation my mom and I had been on in years. Its been a rough year this year and we’ve both been looking forward to the trip since we booked it.

Most people would probably dread the idea of being stuck on a ship, with a small stateroom, with either parent for 7 nights. Not me. My biggest worry? The fact that my mom snores. I know you are probably thinking how that isn’t a very big deal, but since I’ve lived alone for 9 years now even the smallest noises bother me at night. Add in how I’m a horrible sleeper as it is, and I was a little worried. Thankfully there was only on night where I thought about smothering her with a pillow.

We had an amazing time on the cruise. AMAZING. We laid by the pool and read, slept in (some days), had breakfast on our balcony, had amazing food, spent hours at Howl at the Moon, snorkeled with sea turtles, went on a zip line (twice), drank a lot of wine, went paddle boarding, we gambled, saw amazing shows, went to bed early, and even snorkeled with a barracuda. It was perfect.

We both really needed the break from real life and the time together. I see my mom a lot since she lives nearby, but the last couple years were hard with my grandpa. Even on his good days we didn’t want to leave him alone for very long. So it was nice to go on a trip and not have to worry about anything at home. My dad stayed with her dog Ozzie and thanks to the free wifi we had on the ship he was able to check in with us. I’d been preparing for weeks at work to be out for a week, so I wasn’t worried about that. It was just a week for us to relax, have fun, and enjoy being together.

I am SO lucky that I have the relationship with my mom that I do. I have so many friends that don’t have very good relationships with their parents, or even have one at all. I can’t even imagine that. Well, I sort of can. Back when I was married, which seems like a lifetime ago, my relationship with my mom was VERY strained. We didn’t see eye to eye on a lot of things, she wasn’t the biggest fan of my ex-husband, and things were just bad. One of the best things to come out of my divorce is that I got my relationship with my mom back. And let me tell you that NO ONE will EVER mess that up again.

My mom is my hero and the strongest person I know. I am so glad that we were able to take this trip together. I love that we get along so well and can enjoy doing things together. We’ve already started talking about our next big trip together. Where are we going?? Las Vegas to see Lady Gaga!