I have spent a lot of time planning for this sabbatical. I have planned it to coincide perfectly with my 25th wedding anniversary which is October 10. I plan on leaving immediately following my conclave. I am in fact, scheduled to meet Amy at the airport. We are going to take a 7 night cruise from San Juan, Puerto Rico, and go to 5 islands to where we have never been. We are going to spend a couple extra nights in San Juan, then I will return and line-up some folks to help me, as I work in the Grant County Rescue Mission’s resale shop. The area where they accept donations is in a mess, and they need to get it organized.
We had my send off at conclave. Kris prayed that I would get the sabbatical I needed, and not the sabbatical I wanted. Well, there go my plans. I couple of little things like Irma and Maria have severely messed things up. The cruise line refused to cancel our cruise, which means the insurance will not kick in. Our flight to Puerto Rico is still going. Our hotels for the night before and a couple of nights after have closed and cancelled our reservations. We cannot book an earlier flight home, as they are all filled with the folks who are trying to flee the island. I won’t bore you with all the details, let’s just say we used the opportunity to “make lemonade when life hands you lemons” and spent more time on the cruise ship than we originally intended.
While we were on the cruise, we had the opportunity to meet a nice older couple. One minute, I am looking at the steam coming out of the volcano on Montserrat, and the next, Phil (my new friend) is telling me he has Parkinson’s Disease. He also tells me he knows exactly what this means for him. As I am standing there talking with him, a young couple with a baby take my seat. As I am supposed to be doing “deep thinking” on this sabbatical, I cannot help but stand there and be amazed. In the presence of all this beauty, there is destruction lurking just under the surface. There is an active volcano about 25 miles from me. It made half of its island uninhabitable and forced 2/3 of its population to flee since 1995. I also marvel at the speed of life. It takes so little time to get from that young guy, holding his baby, to Phil, trying to make every moment count, while he is still able.
In all the other blogs I have read, lots of people say they can’t get used to the concept of not working. Well then, take my advice….strand yourself in the middle of the ocean with no cell phone and very limited internet connection for an extended period of time. It becomes pretty easy! No desire to go to work here, and no ability to do so if I wanted!!!!
So, the extended cruise goes well, we have a great anniversary, and got in and out of Puerto Rico without “too much” trouble. I do not, however, recommend vacationing in a disaster area.