Hello again friends, its been a while since my last post, I was out cruising the Caribbean. It sounds all glamorous and such and I am sure my delicately chosen Facebook picture uploads will make it appear that way, but I can truthfully tell you it was anything but glamorous. So it turns out I don't like cruising and I don't think cruising likes me or my kids either. The crazy thing is this wasn't my first cruise, I went once before with 7 of my best friends and I had the best time ever. This cruise was exactly like that one (minus the Elvis impersonators) and everything was just as I had remembered it. The difference was me. I am not the same person I was 8 years ago. I have changed. The things that were so fun to me as a single girl are now despised.. first the Sun. As a 26yr old I loved a good tan, I mean it was not uncharacteristic of me to spend all day at the pool, I loved the heat, I loved the burn, I loved the tan lines. Now.. the sun is like a predator waiting to devour my poor fair skinned children. Avoid at all costs, we need hats, sunglasses, full bodied long sleeve bathing suits and tons upon tons of babyganic sunscreen with 80 minute wear time. And once everyone is all lotioned up, suits on, glasses found for the umpteenth time, not the blue ones the ninja turtle ones, hats put on and thrown, put on and thrown, put on and thrown, hats stuffed in beach bag, beach bag packed with Sippy cups, swim diapers,10 different sunscreens for faces, bodies, wet bodies, tear free, organic and of course aerosol for the times when no other mom is looking, the 80 minute wear time has indeed expired and its time to start again. Next on my list is people, I love people I am an extrovert in its truest form. As a 26 year old I craved crowds, I was thrilled at the possibility of meeting new people, funny people, weird people, cute boys of course.. Our last cruise that thought was so exciting, that is until we boarded and realized that we had been booked on an Elvis impersonators convention cruise, nothing but Elvis and Priscilla everywhere we looked... we now understood how we got 7 days for 250 bucks. But it didn't matter we were going to have fun. This time boarding and seeing all the people made me feel nauseous. Every cough and sneeze around me seemed like a bomb trying to take out my family ,purell purell purell!! Then we get on the boat and the pool is literally the size of the rug in my living room and its stuffed with people. It is so full that some can only fit in a foot but by all means their foot is getting in.. all I could think was cesspool of bacteria. We avoided it like the plague, not that my diaper wearing kids would've been allowed in anyway. That turned out to be a win win for me. "Sorry Guy there are no diapers allowed in the pool so you have to be a big boy and go on the potty" I was never so glad guy was still in diapers, but more on the struggles of potty training in a different post. Up next... Cruise food, kind of like Disney food everyone talks about how good it is but seriously where are you people eating? this is not good food. Its Golden Corral good at its best and those of you that know me know that is not a compliment. I hate Golden Corral. Fake food that has been pre touched by hundreds before consumption is not my idea of a good meal. At 26 pizza open 24/7 was a dream, now not so much. Our dining room reservation was for 815 .Eight- Fif -teen -Pee -Emm for a 3 year old and 1 year old, you can imagine the tired chaos that ensued, and then add two strangers to our tantrum table and it just made for a whole carnival of fun. (see what I did there?) needless to say we never made it to the chocolate molten cake, not even once.. sorry Chels. On the last cruise 815 was early, it was prime time, it was the beginning, this time I was begging for bed. This cruise made me hungry, tired, and disgusted most of the time. the last cruise I was refreshed, relaxed and full of cake. and the only difference is me. Me, I was the changing factor, and what has changed so much about me?
I became a mom.
As a mom its instinct to protect my kids, its engrained into the very core of who I am now. As a mom I have to consider the harmful consequences of sun, cesspools, and sugar. Being a mom changed my whole perspective and changed my entire experience. The thought of my little Ava having a sunburn. I just can't. Guy swallowing (cess)pool water...umm no thanks.
Nothing has changed my perspective as much as motherhood. One of the areas that has changed so much now that I am a mom is my view of God as the Father. and who He is. At 26, He was the rule giver and I listened not always understanding the why behind the rule, but understanding His authority to make the rules. But now as a mother, and a rule maker for my kids I have a new perspective. Guy doesn't understand why he can't swim in a cesspool and frankly he doesn't have to understand it, I said no and that's it. But you all know that I said no because I love him, I don't want any harm to come to him. I want more than anything to protect him, keep him safe and healthy because I love him. And as a mom my eyes are opened to the love of God for his children, and to the Why behind His "rules".
We often have blinders on to the consequences of breaking God's law. We seek pleasure and fun with no regard to future repercussions. Spiritually people are acting like 26 yr old cruising Vanessa, sunning with no fear of burn, swimming without seeing the filth, eating chocolate as if it has no calories. We need to change our perspective about the things that the World calls good but God does not. Don't you see that its because he loves you? Start to see sin for sin and call it like it is. We need to stop masquerading in this so called paradise and see the filth that we are allowing ourselves to wade in. Change perspectives.
Both of my kids, despite my crazy purell obsession, still somehow contracted a nasty virus on this cruise. Hand Foot and Mouth Disease. It's terrible, Guy is covered head to toe in blistering bumps, I'll spare you the pics, but I have them if you want to see. And them being sick is not because they didn't listen or because they disobeyed, its because it was a dirty ship. In the same way so many people are quick to blame The Father when bad things happen or blame themselves for past mistakes and the truth is we are all on a dirty ship. We live in a sinful world bad things are going to happen. I felt the need to add this in because every time you bring up God and his perfect protecting rules someone is quick to comment on how a "perfect Christian" that they knew wasn't protected from such and such, and why would a "good God" let that happen. My answer... He didn't. It was a result of the dirty ship. The moment that sin entered into this world it had repercussions. "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world."-Jesus in John 16:33
I hope you all have a better vacation this summer than I did. Either way remember perspective changes things.
love,
V
I became a mom.
As a mom its instinct to protect my kids, its engrained into the very core of who I am now. As a mom I have to consider the harmful consequences of sun, cesspools, and sugar. Being a mom changed my whole perspective and changed my entire experience. The thought of my little Ava having a sunburn. I just can't. Guy swallowing (cess)pool water...umm no thanks.
Nothing has changed my perspective as much as motherhood. One of the areas that has changed so much now that I am a mom is my view of God as the Father. and who He is. At 26, He was the rule giver and I listened not always understanding the why behind the rule, but understanding His authority to make the rules. But now as a mother, and a rule maker for my kids I have a new perspective. Guy doesn't understand why he can't swim in a cesspool and frankly he doesn't have to understand it, I said no and that's it. But you all know that I said no because I love him, I don't want any harm to come to him. I want more than anything to protect him, keep him safe and healthy because I love him. And as a mom my eyes are opened to the love of God for his children, and to the Why behind His "rules".
We often have blinders on to the consequences of breaking God's law. We seek pleasure and fun with no regard to future repercussions. Spiritually people are acting like 26 yr old cruising Vanessa, sunning with no fear of burn, swimming without seeing the filth, eating chocolate as if it has no calories. We need to change our perspective about the things that the World calls good but God does not. Don't you see that its because he loves you? Start to see sin for sin and call it like it is. We need to stop masquerading in this so called paradise and see the filth that we are allowing ourselves to wade in. Change perspectives.
Both of my kids, despite my crazy purell obsession, still somehow contracted a nasty virus on this cruise. Hand Foot and Mouth Disease. It's terrible, Guy is covered head to toe in blistering bumps, I'll spare you the pics, but I have them if you want to see. And them being sick is not because they didn't listen or because they disobeyed, its because it was a dirty ship. In the same way so many people are quick to blame The Father when bad things happen or blame themselves for past mistakes and the truth is we are all on a dirty ship. We live in a sinful world bad things are going to happen. I felt the need to add this in because every time you bring up God and his perfect protecting rules someone is quick to comment on how a "perfect Christian" that they knew wasn't protected from such and such, and why would a "good God" let that happen. My answer... He didn't. It was a result of the dirty ship. The moment that sin entered into this world it had repercussions. "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world."-Jesus in John 16:33
I hope you all have a better vacation this summer than I did. Either way remember perspective changes things.
love,
V
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