We had our ups and downs in Dover because Daughts called us from Amsterdam to say the weather was so bad they had postponed the departure for 6 hours and they would be arriving late, if they could get away at all!
We left that disheartening phone call with the agreement that,
“If I don’t call you know we’ve sailed, just watch for us from your hotel window!”
So of course I had a lovely evening worrying about the storm and the possibility that we may not get to see her the next day as planned.
All the sadness that comes with disappointment rested on me, doubled of course because I wasn’t only feeling my disapointment, I was feeling Daughts’ too.
The night was restless, not at all helped by the fact that the floor of the room sloped steeply as evidenced by the fan!
We got up as planned at the crack of dawn and opened the curtains onto the bay and kept watch.
On an up note, no call from her meant they were en-route.
On another up note we were awake early enough to talk to oldest son who was putting a brisket in the oven for the following evening’s belated labour Day family and friends cook out!
We called the Ocean terminal and were told Grand Mistral was not due before 915am!
At 920am we watch in dismay as a cruise ship sailed past the bay convinced it was bearing Daughts away from us… so near and yet so far!
Then all of a sudden there she was sailing across our bay!
We picked up our bags, left two with reception and walked the 15 minutes to the terminal all the while watching her slow progress. I was excited and walked too fast!
We managed to catch sight of Daughts queuing (how many darn vowels are there in this word? No wonder the Americans use lining up!) to dis-embark and waved wildly!
Then she was hugging us! We waited for crew to get off and said a quick hello to all her freinds who were on their way to London for an excursion! That’s a four hour round trip at least, leaving only two hours for sight-seeing. Oh well, all they need is “the picture!”
We had the ship to ourselves and here’s our day in photos with the help of a few words which somehow squeezed their way in for clarification…
First stop, cabin, which was a whole lot smaller than I imagined!
See the door handle, this is the view from the door way!
Here’s her haul which the security officer told her to keep in Staff Mess…
Let’s hope the cabin doesn’t get searched!
We had a lovely day of visiting and found it very difficult to say our goodbyes.
She doesn’t think the sailing life is for her and her future is uncertain.
All we can do as parentals is pray she makes the right decision remembering that this experience is unique and will be SO MUCH better when viewed in hindsight!
Well hello there! My name is Vivienne McNeny.
I am an empty nester exploring life as a Boomer…you could say I'm happily Boomering along!
As a homeschooling Mum I have finally quit the job of role model and mentor to my four children. I do what I want to do, eat when I feel like it, enjoy life with my blue eyed cowboy and clean my house once a month or so whether it needs it or not!
In true English form I write about the emergence of my true identity now that I can no longer hide behind my children as their Mum.
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