Salty Zebra

    The ten days leading up to my surgery date were full and challenging. We left very early Friday morning to drive across the state and share the news of my brain tumor with my brother and my middle son.  Our hope was to fly, but they were all full.  I think the drive was good for us though.  The mountains were absolutely beautiful. Snow, frozen waterfalls and lakes, everything seemed intensified, even more beautiful than usual.  As I sat in my brother's home that afternoon with him and his wife, knowing that I had to share soon, butterflies filled my stomach.  I couldn't believe how nervous I was. My heart was racing and I had trouble catching my breath. Finally my husband signaled me that I couldn't wait any longer and I needed to get it over with so I prefaced it with a request for secrecy regarding what I was about to share until all of my kids had been informed and then shared the news.  They were understandably shocked, but very lovin...

    Ten days after I received the call letting me know that they found something on the MRI I was sitting in the office of a Neurosurgeon.  I have no doubt that God orchestrated the circumstances that had brought me there, including a friend who is also dealing with a brain tumor recommending this clinic. But how could any of this be real? Only a couple of people knew what was going on, but there wasn't much to know before this appointment. All we had were a few key phrases on the MRI Study Result and our dear friend, Dr. Google.  I went into the appointment with the impression that the doctor would either recommend watching and waiting, doing another MRI in six months and seeing if anything changed, or taking it out right away.  In previous encounters where the option was to wait or do something I have vastly preferred doing something, but this time it was different. I had read about the potential complications of surgery and I was scared.  Not to men...

We see it in movies and TV shows, but we always hope it will never happen to us. The phone rings and it's someone unexpected, a police officer, a relative, a doctor. They give us news we weren't expecting, and from that moment on our lives are forever different. And it's not just our future that's different. We begin to define our past as "before"and "after" this life changing news.  I got the call last Monday, February 27th, 2023. Ironically, it came just two days after the anniversary of another one of those calls, the one letting me know that my brother had died unexpectedly at the age of 40, two years ago. This time it wasn't my Mom calling, it was the ARNP from my neurologist's office. She was calling me at 5:30 at night the next business day after I had had a brain MRI. Right away I knew this wasn't going to be another, "Everything looks fine, we don't know why you're in pain all the time," call. That n...

      Norwegian's Haven is a "Ship within a Ship" concept that allows people to experience small ship luxury while also having access to large ship amenities. Fewer people and exclusive areas allow people to truly experience Norwegian's "Freestyle" cruising.  There's always a lounger by the pool, a cozy chair in the Observation Lounge, or a table in the restaurant when you're ready for them, no camping out or reservations required.      The suite rooms are located both within the Haven and on other decks, but all have access to the special Haven common areas.  On the Norwegian Joy these include the Haven Lounge, Restaurant, Library, Observation Lounge, indoor pool area, and sun deck.   There are a limited number of Haven rooms and only passengers in those rooms may enter the Haven common areas, making them quieter with much more availability.  In order to use a lounge chair by the main pool on just about any mainline cruise ship you...