Family Time

We have been a little busy which has caused me to be a little out of touch.

My oldest daughter was disappointed we were not going anywhere on spring break.  We never go anywhere so her disappointment caught me by surprise.  She explained we have talked about going to Disney World (which she has been to twice but QiuLu has not) and a cruise.  Yes, it is true and we have talked about it for a long time.  Life just gets in the way.

 It also reminded me that when QiuLu was in the hospital last fall and we finally discovered that Bartter's Syndrome was the cause of all her medical issues, If she leaves this life before she is really old, I want her to be able to say she had a great life. I promised myself that I would make my kids my number on priority.  They have also been a priority but I am a single mom and my job has provided so many opportunities for us.  The trade off of those opportunities is the I work a lot.  It is a very delicate balance between working to meet an employer's expectations to continue the income stream, manage medical conditions and appointments while creating memories.

So we went on a cruise for Spring Break.  Oh, it was lovely.  Roatan, Belize, Cozumel and Key West.  The crew on the ship were absolutely fabulous.  They had a kids program and the kids that went seem like they had a great time.  When I suggested that we sign up, my oldest reminded me that this was to be family time.  She did not understand how we would have family time if we were separate.  She is very wise.

A few highlights of the trip-  We  participated in a dolphin encounter.  Our dolphin was Polli.  She is three years old and lives in the Caribbean Sea with her entire family.  We have many pictures of us with Polli and learned each dolphin makes a sound that is unique to them - it is the equivalent of their name.  This was proven as Polli was vocal.  Her mom would come would very quickly, from no where, when Polli said her name.  Her  mom was check her out and when she was satisfied Polli was just fine, she would about her business.  We also learned how chocolate is made from the Cocoa bean.  We even made two chocolate bars of our own beginning with the bean.  I will not complain about the price of chocolate again.  It is a lot of work.  The other highlight is hopefully the girls have some memories.