We are one sleep away from our two weeks of total R&R onboard the Carnival Freedom and I'm SO pumped. Bags are packed and I'd leave right now if we could! We are taking an overnight ferry from here to Civitavechia (the port outside of Rome) and then boarding the ship from there. Andrew is going to LOVE having his idol (aka Daddy) around 24/7. He is also going to LOVE all of the attention he will undoubtedly get from passengers and crew alike. I am going to LOVE exploring a little bit of Greece and Turkey and eating scrumptious food. Daddy is going to LOVE our cabin. We were fortunate enough to have been significantly upgraded from the low level inside cabin that we paid for to a beautiful suite with a private balcony. I love our life!
Over the past few weeks, Andrew has taken to a few new habits. One being climbing on top of everything. I thought I had nipped the climbing on the table thing in the bud, but I walked into the family room the other day after taking a 30 second pee, only to find him smack on top of the table, reaching for the CDs on the top shelf of our entertainment center. He is also very big on turning on the oven, and then opening it up. But he has developed some not so mischievous habits as well including the Teddy Bear routine, the cutest thing in the world. Andrew's room is filled with teddy bears, thanks to the collection that Daddy began for him when he was still in my belly. Every time Daddy travels to a different country, he brings home a new teddy bear. So now, each evening before he goes to sleep, he insists on giving each one of his bears a kiss good night. If I walk towards the crib to put Andrew down, forgetting about the routine, he freaks out and points to the bears, reminding me that we have not yet said good night to them. We start with Music Bear, that was a shower gift from I forget who, and then move on to Andrew Bear (from Aunty Susie and Aunty Lo, a bear with his name on it) and then go to the various bears from countries Robert has travelled, Reindeer Bear (Finland), Hockey Bear (Canada of course), British Bear, Norway Bear, German bear, Spanish bear, etc. He takes each one, gives it a kiss, and places it back in position. I keep telling Robert we must videotape this little routine as it is truly the most adorable thing ever.
Although Robert has not been travelling, his schedule has remained fairly hectic, first because of a large presentation he had to deliver, and recently to wrap things up for work in prep for vacation. He did however find time for Boys Night Out with the Spanish men. When he told me he'd been invited to a little gathering with a handful of Spanish speaking men at work from various different countries, Colombia included, I was happy for him. I feel like my social life is so full with all of the friends I have made, whereas Robert's social life in France revolves almost entirely around me and Burbujitas. The night of the gathering, he came home from work tired, and was a little unenthusiastic about going out but I told him he'd have fun once he got there and though he came home very late that night, he ranted on about what an awesome evening he'd had. I hope it becomes a tradition.
One day last week, I had one of those days where everything went wrong. To start off, I lost some important computer files, our health insurance was terminated, and I got an email from my neighbours stating that my backyard in Florida was flooding because of a hose that was left on and my renters seemed to have vanished. Being six hours ahead, it was too early to call the U.S. about my renters situation so I started the day by attempting to get the health insurance problem resolved, only to leave the health insurance office in tears after speaking with three different people who told me three different things, none of which would resolve the problem. The rest of the day just continued to go downhill and I was at wits end by the time I was ready to go to bed. Before doing so, however, I checked my emails like I always do. In my inbox was an update on Paul, my very dear friend's 5-year old boy with leukemia. Tears streamed down my face and goose bumps covered my body. I read it to myself and then I read it to Robert. Paul was yet again unable to continue with chemo because of his counts and the next step was going to be a bone marrow biopsy. I reflected on my own "bad day" and felt horrible. One of my best friends is coping with her first born's cancer and I'm about to lose sleep over a couple of administrative issues. I put things in perspective then and there. And I will make a better effort at not sweating "the small stuff" in the future. I am however, happy to report that his counts improved and the biopsy was unnecessary.
