What I want to tell you is what vacations are for me, a mother and wife.
Tom and I have been married for 23 years and have had four children (We gave one to the U.
S.
Marines, and are looking for the highest bidder for the other three.
) Our first child was born after we had only been married for 14.
4735 months (At least according to Tom, Some odd calculation of his.
) So when we were younger (speaking as a 41 year old) vacations were few and far between.
Most of the time our vacations were visiting family, camping trips or after we got a little more stable, we started using Time-share condo's.
Needless to say that is still not much of a vacation for "The Mom".
I still have to cook and clean, sometimes for more than my little brood, and the kids still do not want to clean the kitchen.
On top of it I am married to a Workaholic (We took the Workaholics Test where if you answer yes to 3 of 20 questions then you may be a Workaholic and he answered yes to all 20.
He's a freaking Workaholic, now if only I can convince him.
) Since he is also very good at his job most of the time has had to work while we were on vacations.
When we drove from Portland, Oregon to Orlando, Florida one year, his company even went so far as providing him with a Skypager and laptop that they never took back because they found it very convenient for him to have it, to take with us.
In a way I could see why, we were gone for a month.
But he did have to work a little each day.
I do need to clarify here that we took a month vacation because he had to take the time or lose it.
At the end of the month he still had three weeks of vacation time sitting there for him to take within the next year.
This was back when we still had to use dial-up connections, so as you can imagine, now with high speed connections it has only gotten worse.
Camping is not even a way to make him get away from it all because we either rough it camp (really not much fun for mom) or we go to a developed camp ground were most of the time there is an internet connection available.
Not that he now needs it because of the cell phone he has, it also doubles as a modem.
So now to my main point...
Why I Love Cruises!!! It is a great way to force your Workaholic to get away from work.
And, I get a true vacation myself.
True you can still get an internet connection on most ships, but it is sporadic, expensive and unless you bring your own computer you cannot use the ships computers for much.
True, if you are like my Workaholic, your phone can connect for you.
But if you are out at sea the cell phone either does not work or the ships cell phone service charges are higher than can be justified unless it is an emergency.
If you are in port then chances are you are in an area that is considered International by your carrier, so then again the charges are fairly high.
If you are lucky enough that money is not a problem, then the next deterrent for your Workaholic is workspace.
Yes, most laptops now have really good batteries but your Workaholic is not going to want to take the chance that it will run out of power while they are working and they would have to stop in the middle of something.
So that means they go in search of a power outlet that uses the right type of plug (unless you were smart enough to buy an international power conversion set), most of which are already in use by someone else's Workaholic.
In the cruises we have been on there were very few public power outlets.
So that then leaves your Workaholic working in your cabin.
True, if your Workaholic is like mine he or she will not really notice you as you go in and out of the cabin but let's face it, everyone who has ever cruised knows that the cabins are a little small to spend too much time in.
What you need to do at this point is start pointing out that there is a show in the theater, the pool and sun are calling the both of you, there is a class on something they are interested in, the art auction is about to start, the casino is open, they are doing a game show in the lounge, the chocolate buffet is start, or any of the multitude to things to do on a ship.
Eventually they will come out of their shell and join you in enjoying at least a part of the vacation.
So the point in the end is for the spouse of a Workaholic, cruises are great.
You don't have to cook and clean, your husband or wife starts to remember there is more to life then the perfect program and work problems really can wait for a few days most of the time.
So get out there and enjoy life.
So, to prove that he is a Workaholic he has edited and helped me flesh this out, and he still says he is not a Workaholic, after all he plays poker (Isn't that a thinking and calculating game, ummm work...
)