July 2018
Packing for our first trip/vacation...just the 3 of us to Beaches in Turks & Caicos. It's been almost 2months since my husband died and it was the summer. I needed a vacation, but was terrified to do this alone.
My emotions were all over the place. The boys were super excited (2nd plane trip) and I knew I would be just as excited once we are away and settled.
I got myself ready with a haircut that week -my first in probably 6mos. My nails were beach ready and I bought a new suit and fun hat!
Now I had to get my head in the game... It just didn't seem fair or real that he was not coming along. Although Steve would probably tell me that I spent way too much $ on this trip but it was much needed after all we went through the last few months and year(s).
So, it started off really shaky and with lots of tears. You see, my husband always booked our trips, made the arrangements and planned the adventure, so this was my first time booking it all. We(the boys & I) arrived at the airport, in ample time of course, but I totally made a blunder and then lost it to the poor airport security attendant. My legal name is Katherine, but I go by Katie, and when I booked everything, I used "Katie". I do not travel often, so it didn't even phase me that all my paperwork needed to match my passport and driver's license. Bam... cue the tears when the attendant said we couldn't be checked in. I wasn't sure if we would be able to set off and try to have some fun together. The boys took my hands and just said, "it's ok mom, we don't have to go away". Oh, no, we are going, we HAD to go. I looked at the attendant helping us and asked, what can I do? She took us aside to another station and worked on fixing our tickets to match my documentation. She took care of me and us and go us on the plane! She was my savior and I know Steve was with us too and calmed me down.
My only thought was, if this "first" was starting out like this, it could only get better from here, right? Well, sort of. We arrived to our resort only to find that there was no power at all. The island was undergoing a huge infrastructure development with the power grid, but that quickly got sorted out within hours, phew. By the end of the day we went back in our room to get ready for bed, we realized there were bugs... and all over, especially when the lights were on. My first thought was that I should not be on vacation. My husband had only been gone for 2 months and I'm traveling on vacation. Now, I'm feeling guilty and about to lose it again. But again, the management stepper in and was quick to assist to get us sorted out!!
While things started off a little bumpy, it did get better and we ended up having a blast as well as the best time together in a very long time. So you see, it all worked out and I couldn't have been happier we chose to go to an all-inclusive resort like Beaches in Turks & Caicos. I've never done an all-inclusive before, so this was a new experience and made things very easy during our trip(& for a single mom).
We experienced what our new normal was going to be. It was the 3 of us now and we could laugh, have fun, and enjoy each other. Our pain and wounds were still fresh, but it was time well spent together and my boys still talk about this trip and want to know when we are going back. I guess they have forgotten the mishaps that started our travels and only remember the happy & the good, which is what should be remembered.
Thanks for the memories Beaches T & C, we will definitely plan a return trip soon!
xo, Katie.. aka Katherine
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