I write quite a bit about fitness and health, especially as it relates to the over 55 crowd. Today, I want to share a different kind of health lesson—one I learned about staying healthy on vacation during a recent seven-night family cruise. LadyFish and I have recently realized that the years seem to be passing a little faster. We’ve decided that we are going to do everything we can to make sure we enjoy our remaining years. I’ve written before about why having something to look forward to is important, and this cruise turned out to be one of those experiences that reminded us why. Especially while we’re healthy enough to enjoy them. The greatest investment in your overall health isn’t always the next workout or healthy meal.
The Fish family took a cruise recently. It ended up being a wonderful vacation. LadyFin is home from college for the summer, so she joined LadyFish and I on a seven night cruise. We’ve discovered that people tend to either “love” cruising, or “hate” cruising. We have been on several and we love them.
One of my favorite things is to wake up before everyone else and go drink coffee and stare at the endless ocean. Nothing is more relaxing to me. LadyFish enjoys having zero responsibilities – no cleaning and especially no cooking. LadyFin (now that she’s 21) enjoys spending the evenings in the bars drinking “boat drinks” and people watching.
There is something about looking out over miles of open water that puts life into perspective.
The emails can wait.
The yard can wait.
The projects around the house can wait.
For a little while, the only thing that mattered was enjoying where I was and who I was with.
All three of us enjoyed spending all day, everyday, together. At least I hope that my girls enjoy being trapped with me as much as I enjoy being trapped with them.
When we were planning this cruise, the last thing that I thought would happen would be meeting different people and learning valuable lessons about life, and about myself. I am not really a social guy, particularly around strangers. Looking back, I realized it wasn’t the ports or the food that left the biggest impression on me. It was the people.
Let me tell you about just a few of the people we met.
Before we boarded the ship on the first day, we decided to have coffee and croissants at a trendy little place near the ship terminal. As LadyFish and LadyFin were ordering, I stepped outside to get a table on the sidewalk. In typical Fish fashion, the table I sat at was unbalanced and the chairs were wobbly. When the ladies came out to join me, it was obvious that a coffee was likely to be spilled.
As we were fumbling around with the table, this young man approached us and told us there was a good table next to his. We all moved to the table he mentioned. All was good, until — he started talking to us. My guard was immediately up. I just knew he was going to be one of those guys that rambles on and seemingly loves to hear himself talk.
Boy was I wrong. He did talk a lot, but it was one of the most enjoyable conversations that I remember having. He is a young doctor at the local medical school. I believe he was from Pakistan, and talked about his family, and all of the stops he’d made in his medical education journey. He was very impressive. But the thing I remember most was that despite being so accomplished, he was just a normal guy that enjoyed life and was just giving his best in everything he did.
He also took a genuine interest in us. He asked LadyFin about her education and future plans, and offered some good life advice to her.
The reason I tell you about this young man isn’t really because he was a doctor. It’s because he reminded me how wrong first impressions can be. As I said, I immediately wanted nothing to do with him and I had my perceptions of what he would be like. I was totally wrong about him.
We did a port excursion to learn how to make margaritas. Maybe it was really to “drink” margaritas, but I digress. We got paired with a very interesting lady. She was obviously a little older than we were, but she was one of those people that when they talk, you can’t help but pay attention to her.
This lady joined the Army when she was young. Got out and it sounds like she bounced around and had the same ups and downs we all have in life. Her story got really interesting when she said she was at Ground Zero on 9/11. She is the first person I have ever met that was actually there.
After 9/11 she made the decision to live the life she felt like she was called to live. She re-enlisted in the Army and became a chaplain. She ended up retiring from the Army. One thing that she emphasized when talking to LadyFin is to do the hard stuff now. Then you can coast later in life. I wish I would have heeded that advice when I was 21.
Another eye opening experience happened one evening as LadyFish and I were sitting outside of a bar while LadyFin was in the room getting ready for dinner. We were people watching, as we always do when a man approached us and asked if we wanted to play cards with him and his wife. We looked at each other, both a little uncomfortable, then shrugged our shoulders and said “sure.”
When we got to their table to play, he informed us that his wife had Multiple Sclerosis (MS). She had no real control over her motor skills. He handled the cards for her, but she did have all of her mental faculties. The man told us she was diagnosed a few years ago and they were going to take as many cruises as they could before it was physically impossible for her to do so. I’m no expert, but I think they are pretty close to that point.
Their situation reminded LadyFish and I that there are no guarantees in life. It’s not worth putting enjoyable things off until “one day.” We should enjoy everything we can all along the way.
As I said, I never expected to learn life lessons while taking a cruise with my family.
Even though we were on vacation, we still managed to get some physical activity in. There was a very nice workout room on the ship. We made it to the gym several times during the week. We didn’t follow our normal workout schedule exactly, but keeping our bodies moving has become part of our routine. Walking on a treadmill while watching the ocean roll by is a whole lot more enjoyable than staring at the wall in your spare bedroom.
In addition to the great amount of walking we did just exploring the ship, we made a conscious effort to take the stairs instead of elevators most of the time. This seemed like a pretty good workout because we would constantly be going up or down 6 or 8 flights of stairs. I’ll tell you, in the evening, after a few drinks, 6 flights of stairs will get my heart rate racing.
LadyFish and I tracked our daily steps on our watch and we each got over 10,000 steps every day.
Each day wasn’t only about physical activity. We certainly enjoyed all of the food and drinks that were offered. We like to eat breakfast and dinner in the dining rooms. We probably overindulged at just about every meal. There were our normal meals, but none of us were shy about getting a couple of appetizers to go along with the meal. Desserts are a given, of course. Every meal we each got dessert along with something “for the table.”
LadyFin and I enjoyed several cocktails every night. There’s just something about sipping a fruity cocktail while someone sings your favorite songs that makes you forget about everything else for a while.
Vacations aren’t the time to obsess over perfection. We enjoyed ourselves, then came home ready to get back to our normal habits.
I came home with great memories of my family, a few extra desserts, and a handful of conversations I’ll probably remember for years.
I thought the health lesson from this vacation would come from taking the stairs, getting in a few workouts, or walking more than 10,000 steps a day.
It didn’t.
The real lesson was that good health gives us the freedom to spend time with the people we love, to say “yes” to new experiences, and to remain open to lessons from people we never expected to meet.
At this stage of life, that’s a kind of health worth investing in.