In the name of love March 2017 #SecretSubjectSwap

Welcome to March's Secret Subject Swap. This month twelve brave bloggers submitted a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts. 

My “Secret Subject” is:

You win a cruise on "The Love Boat"...tell us about your experience

It was submitted by: http://spatulasonparade.blogspot.com/ (Thank you for the fabulous subject, Dawn!!)

So, about this awesome topic, it really made me have deep thoughts for days. Yes, days. I mean I really thought deeply about this. I tried to figure out how deep and personal I wanted to go with it, and I honestly almost decided to go very deep with it. I almost decided to reveal some deeply personal information. In the end, I decided to not go quite so deep, but I am going to give a very honest answer.

Now, as far as cruises and boats go, I am not the biggest fan in the world. I am kinda scared of them. Now, I did not watch the show about the Love Boat, but I am going to go with this being a boat about love/relationships.

That being said... I decided that what I would want, is to be put on a cruise ship, not just any cruise ship, but the most amazing cruise ship, with EVERYONE I love. Many of my loved ones, have gone many years without seeing me. So, I want to spend an entire month with them. 

As for the ship itself, I want it to be the largest, most amazing cruise ship ever. I want the entire top deck to be all about entertainment and relaxation. I want there to be a pool and a water slide, and game areas, and a spa, and some hot tubs. I want there to be plenty of rooms, with plush, comfortable beds. I want there to be large jacuzzi tubs and walk in showers, in every room. I want families to share rooms. There to be bunk beds for the kids. I want the accommodations to be perfect. I want the dining room to be designed so that people can enjoy their meals, and the company of others. 

Since this is a fantasy, I want there to be a stage, and I want there to be live entertainment nightly. I would love to choose the bands and performers that would serenade us (Think Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Adele, The xx, Radiohead, Aaron Lewis, George Strait, Disturbed, Tool, Garth Brooks, Celine Dion, Beyonce, Missy Elliot, Daft Punk, Cee-Lo Green, Kenny Chesney, Little Big Town, etc etc). I would want the ship to be just far enough offshore, that we are secluded, but close enough, that we can easily reach land. 

I would like us to be able to do activities off the boat, such as scuba diving and riding on jet skis and swimming. I want the entire experience to be FUN. I also just want to make rounds, spending time with all the people I love. It also makes me happy that the people I love would get to know Gigi, and Gigi would get to know them. Some of the most important people in my life, have never been able to meet Gigi. So, really this would be the perfect experience.

Yes, my mind immediately went to the romance option, and I did think of a fantastic option for that route, but in the end I think this would be the best way to go. I could literally have everyone I love in one place, for an entire month. It would be AMAZING. I would be beyond happy. I think this would make me so happy, that I would literally be high on happiness for months after wards. Actually, if anyone could make this actually happen... Let me know. I am all for this!! 

What about you?! How would winning a cruise on the Love Boat play out for you?! Do you like the way I spun it?! Would you prefer a romantic spin on it?! Let me know how you would have worked this subject!! 

I hope you all have a fabulous Friday and a lovely weekend!! Today is our last day on vacation. We have spent the last week in Arizona, with Chad's Dad and step mom. It has been a truly wonderful week. I wish we still had a few days left. At the same time, I am ready to be back to normal, and back home. I have fallen in love with Arizona. It is lovely here. I could happily live here. 

Here are links to all the sites featuring this month's Secret Subject Swap posts.  Sit back, grab a cup, and check them all out. See you there:

Baking In A Tornado     

Dinosaur Superhero Mommy

Spatulas on Parade

The Diary of an Alzheimer’s Caregiver

The Lieber Family Blog

Never Ever Give Up Hope

Simply Shannon

Confessions of a part time working mom

Southern Belle Charm

The Angrivated Mom

Climaxed

Friends and Family... Blood truly is thicker than water...

My family suffered a horrible loss this past week. My young (only 27) cousin died unexpectedly. It is hitting me so hard. I loved him so much. He was one of the first best friends I ever had. My cousins and I would fight like cats and dogs, but at the end of the day, we always had each other's back. We could tease each other mercilessly, but if an outsider teased one of us, it was WAR. 

They taught me so much. Good and bad. We had some great times. We got in trouble together. We got each other in trouble. We had so much fun. We had some epic fights. They taught me how to be a friend. They taught me how to fight. They taught me how to play different games (some of my best memories happened on the basketball court). They taught me how to love. They taught me how to forgive. They taught me that blood is thicker than water.

Now, a piece of that is gone. I am just shattered. I moved away from my family long ago. With the help of Facebook and phone calls, I have kept in touch. They have never stopped being my family, and I have never ever stopped loving them with the intensity that I loved them with as a child. 

I have plans of bringing Gigi for a visit in the future. Plans for her to meet all the cousins that I grew up with. Of telling her stories of how we lived our childhoods to the fullest. It really hurts that she will never get to meet my MattMatt. It just doesn't seem fair, though I guess it is common knowledge that life is often unfair.

This has been a very hard time for my family. It was so sudden and unexpected. I suspect I am not the only person that is having a hard time processing this. I am not sure an event like this is ever easy to process, for anyone. 

MattMatt was such an amazing person. Yes, I may be a tad biased, but he truly was. He had this smile that could light up any room. I remember when I was upset as a kid, and he would try to cheer me up, he would say something silly and laugh, and it would get me to laughing too. You could not see him smile or laugh, and not join in. He was just that special.

He made friends easily. In truth, I think it would be hard to not love him. He has many friends, and we have a pretty big family. I am sad to say that his friends are all trying to help right now, and I think they aren't helping as much as they'd like to be. 

My heart is going out to MattMatt's mom. No mom should ever have to bury their own child, a fact I know all too well. Most importantly, no mom should have to endure drama, while trying to lay their child to rest.

I wish I could reach out to MattMatt's friends, and help them understand that we understand that they are grieving. Friendships, particularly good ones, can run deep. Nearly as deep as family, but family will always run deeper. 

It stinks to see the little bursts of drama rising up, when I know MattMatt would not want that. He would want peace. He would want us all coming together in unity to support and comfort one another. 

It hurts that I am not able to be there, to comfort my family. To help. It hurts that my MattMatt is gone. It hurts. Memories have been flooding my mind. Remembering the little things. Looking back at them with adult eyes. Realizing I owe him an apology. I called him RatRat several times, after he adopted the popular rat tail hairstyle. At the time I giggled, now I feel bad. 

He was beautiful, inside and out. He always will be. A special part of my heart will always keep him alive. I will never forget him or the memories and special times we shared. When Gigi is older, I will giggle as I tell her tales of my childhood. 

Just do me a huge favor and tell your cousins you love them. Cousins are often our first and best friends. They are our friends that last forever, no matter what. They are our family. Family by blood, friends by lucky happenstance.

Love you, MattMatt. Always.