The Ability to Relax, a Second Day at Sea
In this day and age, there is little time to relax. Many of us have forgotten what our favorite way to relax even may be. I’d imagine that for some of the guests aboard the Sea Cloud II, their week before boarding went something like this:
1. Put in a full week of work, possibly staying late on Friday night or even working on Saturday to compensate for the future vacation.
2. Run from drugstore to bookstore to clothing store on Saturday intending to be fully prepared for any activity on board. Laundry and ironing are done intermittently. Begin packing.
3. Light dinner and attempt for an early bedtime. End up staying up way past the proposed bedtime packing toiletries into plastic bags and rethinking the clothing decisions. Set the alarm for 15 minutes earlier than actually needed to allow for last minute emergencies.
4. Snooze through the alarm twice placing you 3 minutes behind schedule.
5. Shower, finish packing, tidy the house, ready breakfast to be eaten on the road. Realize your luggage is either A: unable to be zipped, B: possibly overweight, or C: both. Repacking frenzy begins.
6. The transport to the airport has been waiting outside for 8 minutes now. With wet hair, a smaller load (hoping the cumbersome books, bug spray, and sunblock that were purchased on Saturday were just a luxury and not a necessity…), and a cold breakfast in hand, you stumble out the door. If another person (child, partner) is involved, hope that they stumble out directly after you. If not, add another 5 minutes to the schedule along with a sense of panic and, of course, entitlement since you were the first out the door.
7. Speed for the airport praying for short lines at security and a close gate. Realize that you forgot to pack a toothbrush.
By the time each guest is greeted by the customary flute of champagne on board the Sea Cloud II, their stress level may be so high the suggestion, “Relax!” would send them into a fit of aggression. Therefore, we must tread lightly on the subject for the first full day at sea. Indulging in a decadent catnap on a padded deck chair in the sun may seem a guilty pleasure. Devouring a novel or beginning a journal may seem useless. However, by the second day at sea, I can see the breakdown in resistance. Now by 11am nearly all of the guests can be found idling in a their newly appointed favorite deck chair in some form of consciousness. And now, if one were to suggest that they, “Relax!” they would probably just smile and nod in compliance.
In this day and age, there is little time to relax. Many of us have forgotten what our favorite way to relax even may be. I’d imagine that for some of the guests aboard the Sea Cloud II, their week before boarding went something like this:
1. Put in a full week of work, possibly staying late on Friday night or even working on Saturday to compensate for the future vacation.
2. Run from drugstore to bookstore to clothing store on Saturday intending to be fully prepared for any activity on board. Laundry and ironing are done intermittently. Begin packing.
3. Light dinner and attempt for an early bedtime. End up staying up way past the proposed bedtime packing toiletries into plastic bags and rethinking the clothing decisions. Set the alarm for 15 minutes earlier than actually needed to allow for last minute emergencies.
4. Snooze through the alarm twice placing you 3 minutes behind schedule.
5. Shower, finish packing, tidy the house, ready breakfast to be eaten on the road. Realize your luggage is either A: unable to be zipped, B: possibly overweight, or C: both. Repacking frenzy begins.
6. The transport to the airport has been waiting outside for 8 minutes now. With wet hair, a smaller load (hoping the cumbersome books, bug spray, and sunblock that were purchased on Saturday were just a luxury and not a necessity…), and a cold breakfast in hand, you stumble out the door. If another person (child, partner) is involved, hope that they stumble out directly after you. If not, add another 5 minutes to the schedule along with a sense of panic and, of course, entitlement since you were the first out the door.
7. Speed for the airport praying for short lines at security and a close gate. Realize that you forgot to pack a toothbrush.
By the time each guest is greeted by the customary flute of champagne on board the Sea Cloud II, their stress level may be so high the suggestion, “Relax!” would send them into a fit of aggression. Therefore, we must tread lightly on the subject for the first full day at sea. Indulging in a decadent catnap on a padded deck chair in the sun may seem a guilty pleasure. Devouring a novel or beginning a journal may seem useless. However, by the second day at sea, I can see the breakdown in resistance. Now by 11am nearly all of the guests can be found idling in a their newly appointed favorite deck chair in some form of consciousness. And now, if one were to suggest that they, “Relax!” they would probably just smile and nod in compliance.
