A Mother’s Respite

I in no way am going to pretend this is anything more than selfish and perhaps trivial in the grand scheme of things. Nonetheless, it is my goal to provide a much needed vacation as respite for my mother. My mother has been an unselfish, grounded person as long as I've known her (so my whole life). She has her flaws. But she has also sacrificed much for her very flawed, very needy family (myself included). With a bipolar ex-husband and four children with mood disorders all over the spectrum, she alone has managed to be the one sane person that held us siblings together. She has worked hard as a single mother most of her life in a physically demanding job. And now that she is retired, she continues to make constant sacrifices for her family and people in her community. But I can see she is wearing down and what she needs is time away from all the cumulativ stress we all pile on her to clear her head, gain perspective, and just give her time to relax. A time, even just a week, where for once SHE is waited on, she gets to choose what she wants to do rather than leave it up to a vote or 'reasonable discussion', and no one will demand anything of her.

There is a very specific vacation I have planned for her - an Alaskan cruise. This was something she had hoped to bring her own mother along on her mother's 75th birthday. Sadly, my grandmother never made 75, although she came close. And now, before my own mother skirts the line too close to being able to truly enjoy the experience, I'd like to see her go on that same experience she'd planned for her mother. And it's my hopes she will return to her family, her four children and multiple grandchildren, reinvigorated and content.

She is not a fan of over the top or austentations things - which is why I am aiming at one of the more moderately priced cruise lines (I have two or three in mind), plus a little above the brochure price to pay for gratuities, port taxes, and a little extra spending.

I know throwing money at a problem isn't the solution. But cough syrup isn't a cure for the common cold - it merely alleviates the discomfort of the symptoms until it works itself out. And that is what I am hoping to do - allow her to untangle from stress so that she is better capable of working through the things that have been dragging her down.