The Ups and Downs of the High Seas

Recently, I briefly mentioned to a dear friend, “Hey we should go on a cruise!” Before I knew it, my friend had arranged a 7-day cruise out of Galveston. Our words have power! The last time I went on a cruise was in 2012 and started to get excited about the idea of another adventure at sea. Next thing I know, we’re booked on a cruise heading out the following month. And after clearing my schedule, we were ready to go!

The friend I was traveling with made plans to visit her friend in Houston prior to our cruise, so I joined them. We stayed at a nice B&B, and had a wonderful time going out to brunch, dinner and shopping. It was lovely.

A few days later we arrived at the port in Galveston. When we pulled up, this huge, beautiful cruise ship was waiting for us to board. I was getting excited! I’m told it’s at least two football fields in length. And, I believe it because our room was on the far end of the ship. I definitely got in my walking exercise on this excursion. As we were pulling out of the port, I saw the fins of dolphins dancing around in the water, which made me very happy and enthusiastic for the journey ahead of us.

We spent a couple of days on the ocean while we were cruising to our destinations in Mexico and Honduras. There were so many activities to do and shows to attend on the ship. The buffet was delicious and the evening dinner was usually a special dressy affair. The size of this ship was massive. There were multiple decks and elevators connecting all of them. Outside of each elevator there were buttons everywhere you could push for your particular deck. And once you chose your deck, it would tell you how long the wait was for the elevator doors to open.

One day when I was waiting for an elevator, I became impatient for the 2.5-minute elevator door to open, so I decided to take the stairs. Some of you know that I had a total knee replacement on March 11^th of this year. The one strong piece of advice my surgeon told me was, “Whatever you do, don’t fall.” Well, you guessed, I tripped, and tumbled head over heels, down 6 steps to the bottom. And I still have the six major bruises to proof it. People gathered around me, trying help. They asked if there was someone they could call. They called our room, but no one answered. To my amazement, as I looked up, my friend was standing right in front of me, on a deck we hadn’t planned to meet. Can you believe that? Her intuitive guidance led her right to me. I was taken to the medical unit and had X-Rays, but thankfully nothing was

broken. That was definitely a lesson in being patient. No more steps for me on that day!

A couple days later, we were able to go snorkeling in a bay by a private ocean island. Even though I was still recovering from my bruises, it felt so good to snorkel and see all of the marine life in the water beneath me. When we returned to shore, we were able to sit out by the water. Behind me I heard the squawks of parrots that lived on the island. One brave gentleman reached up to one of the parrots who promptly jumped on his finger. I knew I had to get a chance to connect with one of the two mated birds. I was thrilled when he came right to me and sat on my hand. I had sparkly fingernails, which he was obviously attracted to because he gently tried to give me a personal manicure. I was really missing that animal connection, so I was more than thrilled to have this experience.

After a while, I walked to the ladies’ room. On my walk I saw multiple baby parrots, who allowed people to softly touch their feathers. They were so sweet. Behind them, I noticed a worker from the staff offering an unusual looking, long tailed, black squirrel sunflower seeds. I asked permission to feed him. After quieting my mind and sending love to the squirrel, I offered him a sunflower seed. To my joy he received it ever so gently with his mouth. Then he would run back up to the safety of his tree. I must have given him twenty seeds which he so very graciously received from me. I found how restorative being with animals was for me. Connecting with them brought me fully to life. It was one of the highlights of our cruise.

There were many more enjoyable moments where I relaxed, laughed and met new friends. When I was finally back, I was filled with appreciation for having had a wonderful time and felt a joyfulness in being back home. This trip helped to rejuvenate me for the summer ahead of hard work and animal communication - the work that feeds my soul! 

Here's to a Great Summer!

Many Blessings,

Sandra