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Wimpy’s
Romantic Game Plan for
‘Tom & Mary’s’ last eleven cruises
Mary has said the most
memorable and best part of our cruises are the things Wimpy, (Tom’s
persona when he cruises) does to surprise her. Wimpy views every cruise as
an opportunity to practice some major marriage maintenance. He prepares
for each cruise like a coach prepares for the big game. He thinks about
all sorts of things he could do to surprise Mary and after much soul
searching, he carefully formulates his game plan. He knows defense wins
the big games in football, but it’s a strong, well-thought out offense,
that’s needed for a super week of marriage maintenance. Read the details
of Wimpy’s successful game plans for Tom & Mary’s last eleven cruises.
Our regular readers are familiar with the Wimpy character I refer to in
our reviews, but for our new readers, a quick explanation. Tom had been a
Macho man most of his early life. In his latter years he began to realize
when he did those little wimpy things that Mary loved him to do, his
lovely Mary gave him a lot more reason to smile. Although Tom was macho,
he wasn’t dumb. When Tom is at sea, on another of their ‘Honeymoons,’ he
takes on the Wimpy persona to its highest degree by using these occasions
as an opportunity to do all sorts of lovely little wimpy things for his
Mary.
We started cruising in 1996 and I found the ambience of the ship and the
serenity we feel while at sea, made it the perfect setting for Macho Tom
to practice some serious marriage maintenance. As our regular readers know
and our new readers are about to learn, Mary & I are romantics. We have
included the following sentences in all our previous reviews because it
best describes the reason we love to cruise. Mary & I enjoy cruising
because we can’t think of a more romantic, intimate, exciting way to spend
quality time with the one you love, than when on a cruise. That is why we
look at our cruises as being on another ‘Honeymoon.’ Mary & I just
returned from our 33rd ‘Honeymoon’ and like every one of them, it was very
special. In our article, we will be sharing some of our thoughts and some
of the things we do, that have made our twilight years the best years of
our life
Wimpy’s Romantic Game Plan for Tom & Mary’s Last Eleven Cruises.
Royal Caribbean: Splendor
of the Seas 11/2001--Mary’s Birthday
http://www.cruisereviews.com/RoyalCaribbean/SplendouroftheSeas4.htm
I wanted to do something
special for Mary's birthday. Surprising someone you love is not always
easy. It's always nice when your spouse hears you speak words of love, but
it is much nicer and more appreciated when you put your pen to paper and
write her a love note. I believe Mary has saved every note I have ever
written her and I must admit I have done the same. Mary is very
sentimental and loves to receive a note of endearment or an occasional
bouquet of flowers. I remembered a quote that said, "A marriage may be
made in heaven, but the maintenance must be done on earth." I looked at
Mary's birthday as a great opportunity to do some major maintenance. I
decided I would write three love notes and give them to her at different
times during the cruise. I will also tell you how I enlisted our cabin
steward Aris in helping me surprise Mary with a nightly rose.
I wrote the three notes on beautiful embossed cards that my daughter sent
from Turkey. I hid them among our cruise documents waiting for just the
right moment. I chose the second night at dinner to give Mary the first
note. I had Miguel place the note under Mary's dessert dish without her
knowing. When we finished dessert and our server Miguel picked up her
plate, she noticed the envelope. She said what is this? I said I don't
know, why don't you open it. She opened it and read it and she just
melted. She had tears in her eyes. She held my hand and thanked me for
being so thoughtful and whispered some words of love, which I'm not at
liberty to tell you. Talk about special moments. This was another
treasured addition to our ever growing collection of memories.
Besides the notes I had written Mary, I wanted to give her flowers. We
cruise on our Birthdays, Anniversary, and Valentines Day, so it isn't
unusual for me to give Mary a bouquet of flowers. Nevertheless, this time
I though I would do something different. I thought it would be romantic,
if each night when we returned to our cabin, Mary would find a Rose on her
pillow. The more I thought about it the more I liked the idea, but how to
do it was a problem. I couldn't speak to the flower man because the flower
cart was not open until 5:30. The only answer was to ask my pal Aris, our
Indonesian cabin attendant, if he would help me. Earlier in the evening I
went into the hall and found Aris and I asked him if he knew of a way that
I could carry out my plan. He had a big smile on his face and he said, "Me
do." I asked him if he was sure he could do it and again he said, "Me do."
When we returned to our room that evening, I opened the cabin door and
lying there on Mary’s pillow, a little limp but as pretty as could be, a
long stemmed red rose. When she saw it, she picked it up and smelled it,
and then gave me a big hug and a big kiss. A wise man once said, "It's
wise to ply a wife with compliments and expressions of tender care." I
held Mary tightly and told her, "Of the many achievements in my life,
without a doubt the greatest was when I persuaded you to marry me."
Needless to say, it was another one off those very special, irreplaceable
moments... marriage maintenance at it's highest level.
As it often happens, even in the most romantic moments something humorous
occurs. When I spoke to Aris about putting a rose on the pillow, I told
him to do it every night and to make sure each rose was a different color.
I told him to make sure the flower man put the stem of the rose in a vial
with water and put a vase with water on Mary's night table. This way she
can put each rose in the vase and by the end of the cruise she will have a
full bouquet. Aris was so excited about being my partner in this romantic
escapade, he forgot to tell the flower man about the vial or the vase. You
guessed it, by the time Mary finished her shower her beautiful red rose
was laying limply on the pillow, in desperate need of water. We made an
attempt to resurrect it, but it was too late. But all was not lost. The
next morning I told Aris what happened and he said, "Me very sorry." I
felt bad for Aris. Here this poor little guy, needing every bit of his
energy to take care of his fourteen cabins, and I had him running back and
forth to the flower man. And he tells me he's sorry! I told him not to
worry, these things happened. Aris more than made up for his lapse of
memory and for the remainder of the cruise he followed instructions to a
tee. Each evening when we returned to our cabin Mary found a beautiful
rose on her pillow and Wimpy just looked at her and smiled. We had many
memorable nights to add to our growing memories.
Being I’ve mentioned collecting memories again, I thought you might like
to know what inspired us to collect memories. We read two articles that
convinced us that collecting memories, in our latter years, was a
worthwhile endeavor. We first came across an article by John Powell who
said, "Things we do today are tomorrow's memories. Some memories happen
but others memories must be planned. It's important to plan things because
they keep on playing as memories in ones mind and heart forever." He
finished by saying, "Half of what we are is determined by the memories we
have."
Then shortly after, we read about the renowned traveler, Niebuhr, who
became blind in his old age. But having traveled all over the world, and
viewing the most beautiful and loveliest scenes, he had stored in his
memory countless pictures of landscapes, mountain scenery, and valleys of
rare beauty. Then, as he reclined in his easy chair, his face would often
brighten into a rich glow, as if some inner light was shining through. He
was remembering once more, some splendid scene he had looked upon in his
travels. The author wrote that the chamber walls of his memory were hung
all over with the pictures which filled his darkened years with joy and
beauty... These thoughts inspired us to plan and do things that we could
add to our collection of memories, memories that would be with us forever.
At the very top of our long list of memories, are the many wonderful romantic moments Mary & I have shared during our twenty cruises... Enough sentimentality, now were going to take you on a tour of the ship...
Royal Caribbean's
Explorer: 2/2001–Valentine Week Celebration:
http://www.cruisereviews.com/RoyalCaribbean/ExploreroftheSeas16.htm
Although my little Irish
lady celebrates another birthday, she’s like a rare expensive wine and
keeps getting better with age. You have seen a number of pictures of my
Mary and I think you will agree with me, she looks beautiful. I think the
way she looks, speaks volumes for what her attitude on aging has done for
her. Just the other day we were driving to the maul and I was kidding Mary
about her age. I told her the only reason she married me was because I was
a younger man and she wanted me to take care of her when she got old. She
said, "I never even think about my age. I just never give it a thought."
That's my Mary. She keeps it simple and it works. I want to tell you what
Wimpy did for Mary for Valentines Day.
Having spoiled Mary by having a rose placed on her pillow every night
during our Splendour cruise, I was hard pressed to think of something to
do for Valentines week. Mary & I no longer spend a lot of money on gifts
for each other. We find that the quality time we have together on a cruise
is gift enough for all occasions. But Mary does like thoughtful gifts and
thoughtful words. I gave it a lot of thought and decided I would write
some short notes of endearment, and give her a note every day of
Valentines week. But how would I deliver them? That was the question. I
finally got the idea of finding seven different small attractive boxes
that I could conceal my little notes. I looked all over without a lot of
success but finally I came across the type boxes I was looking for. I
found two small heart shaped porcelain boxes. I filled one with candy
kisses and one with chocolate hearts and my notes. I found a very
beautiful small wooden bowl with a wicker cover. I filled it with
potpourri saturated with Hyacinth oil, Mary's favorite scent, and a note.
I also found two attractive china & metal heart-shaped boxes. I cut out a
picture of the two of us and pasted it in the inside cover of one. Then
with the other, I cut out a picture myself and pasted it on the inside
cover. I wrote appropriate notes for both. I was lucky to find a tiny
music box. It was on a pedestal and had two love birds on the cover. It
had just enough room inside for two chocolate hearts and a note. The one I
was most proud of, was a porcelain heart-shaped box that I gave to Mary
the last night of our cruise. On the inside cover was a picture of a boy
who has become a special friend of Mary's. I placed a note inside that
read, ‘Your Love Knows No Bounds.' Mary was speechless... I know a lot of
you men have tuned me out by now, but that's okay... I'm sure the ladies
are still with me and would like to hear what was Wimpy s next move.
Mary had no idea I was going to do this. She didn't have a clue. I kept
the gifts in a drawer in my night table. I gave her one present each day
of the cruise but at different times each day. And every day she was
genuinely surprised. When I gave her a gift at night, I waited till she
took her shower. Then I placed the gift on her pillow and toggled the
pinpoint spot so the light would shine on the gift. Then I turned out all
other lighting and waited for Mary to come out and see what Wimpy had
done. Sometimes in the morning, when I was alone for a few minutes, I
would do the same thing and then again, sometimes in the afternoon. She
was absolutely totally and completely surprised. Between the Scented Oil
plug-in and the Hyacinth Potpourri we felt like our cabin was the garden
of Eden. But on second thought, I think it was.
On Valentine Day morning we read our Valentine notes to each other. I
wouldn't dare reveal the things that Mary wrote, but I will tell you how
she signed it. She singed it, "You are my house guest forever and your
room is in my heart." Now, isn't that a beautiful poetic way of saying I
love you? But then again, it doesn't surprise me, that's my lady Mary.
Talk about special moments. Old Wimpy was teary eyed. We had another
wonderful romantic Valentine celebration and it will become another of our
many treasured memories. Wimpy never stopped smiling for the entire
week... I have no doubt that we have told you much more than you wanted to
know... enough about romance... we're going to take you on a tour of
the remaining venues.
Royal Caribbean Voyager:
5/2001–Our 33rd Wedding Anniversary:
http://www.cruisereviews.com/RoyalCaribbean/VoyageroftheSeas22.htm
Some years ago, we read a
short meditation we both thought was very special. I wrote about it in our
‘Splendour of the Seas review,’ saying I wished I had read this before our
daughters got married. It went like this: Rev. Chalfant tells of a couple
who were celebrating their golden wedding anniversary. The Rev. asked the
husband what was the secret of his successful marriage. As old gents are
prone to do, the old gentleman answered with a story.
He told Rev. Chalfant, that his wife Sarah was the only girl he ever
dated. Before he knew it, she had managed to get him to ask her to marry
him. After they had said their vows on their wedding day, Sarah's father
took the new groom aside and handed him a small gift. He said, "Within
this gift, is a reminder of all you really need to know, to have a happy
marriage." Within the box lay a large gold watch. With great care he
picked it up. Upon close examination, he saw etched across the face of the
watch a prudent reminder he would see whenever he checked the time of
day... words that... if heeded... held the secret for a successful
marriage. They were... "Say Something Nice To Sarah."
Wimpy loved this story and when he was thinking of how he could surprise
Mary for her anniversary, he remembered the ‘Say Something Nice to Sarah'
story. The story gave him an idea that he thought would be just as
effective.
After dinner, the night of our anniversary, Wimpy reached across the table
and took Mary's hand. He placed in it a velvet ring box, with a note.
Being we stopped buying each other jewelry many years ago, Mary was
thoroughly surprised. She read the note, and was now both surprised and
confused. It read, "To Mary from Wimpy, for Tom." Mary looked puzzled as
she opened the box. In the box was a plain gold wedding band with five
engraved letters on its surface. SSNTM. Mary immediately knew what the
initials meant. Yes, it was an abbreviation of "Say Something Nice to
Mary." It was Wimpy's way of reminding Tom to never forget how special
Mary is and to make sure he tells her so, every single day. My lady Mary's
smile warmed my heart, as she took my hand and placed the wedding band on
my finger... I can swear I heard a voice say... now you may kiss the
bride... and I did... I felt like we were getting married all over again.
Needless to say, it was a very touching moment, a very special moment to
add to our collection of memories.
Ocean Princess:
2/2002–Valentines Week Celebration:
http://www.tomandmaryscruisereviews.com/OceanPrincessReview2.htm
Valentines week is a very
special occasion for me and my Lady Mary. Its week long celebration that
affords Wimpy an opportunity to practice some serious marriage
maintenance. It is a week when ‘Macho Man Tom’ assumes his full Wimpy
persona. For those who are hearing about Wimpy for the first time, let me
give you a brief explanation. Tom is no dum-dum. He took notice when he
did all those little things that Mary likes him to do, you know, those
thing’s Macho men call Wimpy, Mary gave him a lot more reason to smile.
Valentines week is when Wimpy is at his very best.
This belated Valentine, which we celebrated for a full ten days, gave me a
wonderful opportunity to tell and show Mary how much she means to me. Each
year the bar is raised a little higher and it gets more difficult to think
of ways to surprise my Mary. But when I’m at an impasse, all I have to do
is read the myriad of endearing notes she has sent me and I find a new way
to tell her how special she is. This year I bought business card material
at Office Depot. I used the label element in my writing program and wrote
20 short love notes, two for every day of our 10-day cruise. I then wrote
10 Cards as if they were coupons, with various offers such as; Coupon:
This card entitles the bearer to a half hour shopping spree in the lady’s
Boutique... Another said, Coupon: This card entitles the bearer to an in
cabin massage, upon Request. I think you get the general idea. I placed
them in places that I knew would surprise her. On the bathroom mirror, on
her pillar, in her sock draw, among her unmentionables, pinned to the neck
of the dress she was going to wear that evening, and etc & etc. I always
saved one to slide across the table at dinner time. The effect of our
romantic endeavors kept our emotions at an all time high throughout the
cruise. We had the best ten days of any cruise we have been on and it had
little to do with anything other than the wonderful romantic, intimate
time we had together.
Royal Caribbean:
Enchantment of the Seas 7/2002
http://www.tomandmaryscruisereviews.com/EnchantmentReview.htm
Wimpy took a page from what he did for Mary last Valentines week, when he surprised her by placing love notes in the most unexpected places. Remember? It worked so well and had such a lasting effect on Mary he decided to do it again but in a much smaller way. This time he printed up seven cards with, and if I may say so, very well written endearing love notes. The way he gave them to her became a nightly ritual. Every night at dinner just before Mary took her first sip of wine, Wimpy would slide one of his prepared cards across the table and before she has a chance to read it he would lift his glass and toast her and say something very nice. Wimpy then watched very intently as Mary read her love note. When she finished reading her love note, she took his hand, leaned over and kissed him and thanked him. Wimpy eased back in his chair, a big smile spreading across his face. As Mary smiled at him with her heart, he felt all kind of warm emotions surge through his body. As you might imagine our evening dinners were very special. It is amazing how a little act of love can make for a memorable evening.
NCL Sun: 9/2002
http://www.tomandmaryscruisereviews.com/NorwegianSunCruiseReview.htm
Our regular readers know of Wimpy’s use of blank business cards to write little notes of endearment. He uses them to surprise Mary when they cruise. Like one Valentines cruise, when he made up a dozen cards with love notes on them which he placed in different places in their cabin and in the drawers where she kept her clothes. And another time when he made up the same type cards, one for every night, that he would hand her just before she took her first sip of wine before dinner. Well, Wimpy wanted to surprise Mary again and this is what he came up with. While at home, knowing they would be dining at different ethnic restaurants, he thought it would be nice if he could give Mary a love note written in the language of the restaurant they were dinning at. He wrote a love note for each of the restaurants they would attend and then looked up the Language Dictionary on the web, http://www.screensaverhome.com/onldict/ita.html where he learned how those words were spelled in that language... He made a card for the Bistro in French, the Il Adagio in Italian, and etc. and under the note was written... Turn over for English translation... When turned over, the same loving phrase was spelled out in English. Wimpy eagerly looked forward to each evening... for that special moment when he would give Mary her little love note. Then he would sit back in his chair and watch as Mary read the note and wait to see that beautiful smile spread across her face. Needless to say, these were very special moments for us... wonderful moments that we will add to our growing collection of memories. It took quite awhile for Macho man to get the message, but in the latter years of my life, I learned that the more I did the little things that my Mary loves me to do... the happier and more fulfilled I feel... I think I’ve told you about all I want to... about our romantic interlude... come join us as we dine at Il Adagio.
Royal Caribbean:
Brilliance of the Sea 12/02–Mary’s Birthday:
http://www.tomandmaryscruisereviews.com/BrillianceReview.htm
I remembered reading that a
marriage may be made in heaven, but the maintenance must be done on earth.
This prompted Wimpy, being the romantic he is, to use special occasions
like birthdays, anniversaries, Valentine week, past president’s birthdays,
all bank holidays and other sundry events, as an opportunity to practice
major marriage maintenance with his lovely Mary.
Wimpy looked at Mary’s birthday as a great opportunity to do some serious
marriage maintenance. He decided that celebrating Mary’s birthday just for
one day was not enough, so he formulated a plan to make the entire eleven
day cruise a celebration. He started by arranging for RC’s birthday
decorations for the cabin and a large bouquet of Sun flowers. He knew that
Mary had saved every card and every note he had given her for the
thirty-four years they were married. This thought triggered his mind and
gave him an idea. Mary’s birthday was December 2nd, the same day we were
to begin our cruise. Wimpy knew that being Tom had planned on giving Mary
her birthday card that morning at home, she would be surprised and touched
if he gave additional cards during the cruise. He spent hours reading Hall
Mark cards in the, “For The One You Love” section, until he found seven
cards that spoke his heart. He then composed some ‘Roses are Red’ poems...
you know, the kind we used to make up when we were kids but as love poems.
Like: Roses are Red... Violets are Blue... There isn’t anyone as lovely...
and exciting as you! Not exactly a Walt Whitman or Longfellow effort by
any means, but my Mary was impressed. Every other night at dinner Wimpy
gave Mary one of the cards and on the other nights one of the ‘Roses are
Red and Violets are Blue’ love poems. He made a series of, tear out
perforated coupons in booklet form, which he included in the envelopes
with the poems. One had four redeemable coupons for four different type
massages for ‘Wimpy’s Cabin Spa.’ (None which I am at liberty to tell you
about.) Another was a ‘Movie Coupon Book,’ with four coupons for the
latest movies, redeemable whenever Mary wanted to go. Wimpy knew this
would go over big with Mary, because she knew Tom hates going to the
movies. Wimpy also earned additional credits with Mary with morning and
evening pillow surprises. It was a lot of fun to keep on surprising Mary
and I want you to know, not only did I do a lot of smiling during the
cruise, but since I have been home, I find myself smiling, even when there
isn’t anything to smile about.
We have been fortunate to experience many, many, very special moments in
our life but this birthday cruise on the Brilliance has to go to the very
top of our list. These moments with my Mary, plus some others I will soon
be telling you about, have provided us with memories that will line the
walls of our hearts forever . . . now make sure you put on your jungle
attire and your pith helmet, as we are going on a Safari into an upscale
African Animal Reserve . . . the Solarium . . . to look for some
Elephants.
Coral Princess:
2/2003–Another Valentine Celebration:
http://www.tomandmaryscruisereviews.com/CoralPrincess.htm
Wimpy Considers Valentines
Week the Super Bowl of Marriage Maintenance.
The reason I am writing about Wimpy so soon into our review, is because
the thought and effort of what he did to surprise his lady Mary, set a
romantic tone for everything that took place on our cruise.
I remember the early days when I kept the same car for a number of years,
I had to occasionally charge the battery or it wouldn’t run. In a way
marriage is a lot like that. Every now and then you have to make sure you
recharge the batteries of affection and love, to keep your marriage
running smoothly. I remember reading that, “A marriage may be made in
Heaven but the maintenance takes place on earth.” If ever there was a time
for some serious marriage maintenance, Valentine week is it.
Mary had told me that the best and most memorable part of our cruises are
the things Wimpy did to surprise her. Wimpy knew he had to do something
very special for Valentine week. Wimpy prepared for it the same way a
coach prepared for the big game. He thought about all sorts of things he
could do to surprise Mary and after much soul searching, he formulated his
game plan. Defense may win the big games in football but it’s a strong
offense that’s needed for a super week of marriage maintenance. Now for
Wimpy’s game plan:
In thinking about our past life and realizing the enormity of the things
Mary has done for me and continues to do for me, I knew a one day
celebration would not be adequate. I knew my game plan had to encompass
the entire field, the ten days of our cruise. I started preparations a
full six weeks before our cruise. In shopping around for ideas, I came
upon some beautiful animal figures that were magnetized so that their lips
met in a kiss. I started collecting them. Ladybugs, little bears, big
bears. monkeys, you name it, I collected it. I also collected some small
Valentine frames, one in Lucite, another in silver and a silver box with a
heart-shaped insert for a picture. I searched our albums for the
appropriate pictures for the frames. I was a steady customer at the
Hallmark store, searching for cards that spoke my heart and for some
humorous ones that offered a change of pace. For ten days my computer room
was out of bounds for Mary, while I wrapped each gift in Valentine paper
and matching trimmings and wrote a note on each of the cards. I had to buy
an additional carry-on for the gifts. Like the coaches, I had done my
preparation for the big event and now it was time to deliver.
I usually wake up a half hour or so before Mary and go to the lunch room
to fill two thermos mugs with coffee to take back to our cabin. When I get
back to the room, it isn’t very long before Mary is awake and heads for
the bathroom. That’s when I would get the gift, for that day, from the
valise and put it on her night stand with a card. I had so many gifts and
cards that in order for me to keep track, I had a calendar with notes I
made of the gift and the card for that day. It was the same as a coach
having a play book. Besides this, I had typed a pad of notes of endearment
on 3 x 3 post-its and affixed them at different times to the bathroom
mirror, on the desk mirror, on the lamp on her night stand and other
places I’m not going to tell you about. Needless to say, it was a week we
will never forget. To start each day with such depth of feeling, set the
stage for the most heart warming and memorable cruises we have made.
I learned in my latter years that time and effort expended, are more
appreciated than giving extravagant gifts. I remember reading about a
native boy in Africa, who walked fifty miles to give a gift of a few
colorful shells to a parting Missionary. When he gave the missionary his
gift, he said, “Long walk part of gift.” I know from my Mary’s reaction
that “Much effort by Wimpy is the most important part of his gift.”... I
hope we still have a few men readers with us... if so... I invite them to
join us as we take a quick walk around the four decks of the Atrium.
Celebrity’s Summit:
4/2003–35th Anniversary
http://www.tomandmaryscruisereviews.com/SummitCruiseReview2.htm
Its Getting More Difficult
For Wimpy to Surprise Mary: I was stymied when I tried to think of a new
way for Wimpy to surprise Mary. Anniversaries are very important occasions
for most wives and Mary is no exception. Ever since he read the quote,
“Marriages may be made in Heaven, but the maintenance is done on earth,”
he made marriage maintenance his number one priority on all our cruises.
This being our anniversary cruise, Wimpy wanted to maximize his
opportunity to earn some high marks in marriage maintenance. On previous
cruises, he has hit the ball out of the park every time. But for some
reason, for this important cruise, he couldn’t make up his mind what he
wanted to do. Just when things were looking the darkest he got an idea
from an unexpected source.
A month before our cruise, we were having dinner at our club with some old
friends. Marion Merkle, who was seated to the left of me, leaned over and
whispered in my ear, “What is Wimpy going to do for Mary on your
anniversary cruise.” I told her I didn’t have a clue. She said, “Being
your going to be away for Easter, why don’t you do something with Easter
in mind.” Easter! It had completely slipped my mind that we were going to
be at sea on Easter. It took a minute for her remark to sink in... then I
realized... that’s it... the Easter theme is something I could work with.
There isn’t a women in the world who doesn’t like cute little Bunnies and
those fuzzy Baby Chicks... surely I could find a way to have Wimpy
incorporate the Easter Bunny in his plans.
It wasn’t long before I made a decision to adopt a plan similar to the one
Wimpy came up with on our Valentine cruise. I began collecting small
stuffed Easter Bunnies. You know the soft cuddly kind, not the chocolate
ones. I hunted around until I found them in every imaginable position.
Sitting, standing, lying down, sleeping, holding a carrot and even in the
act of kissing. I know men don’t often use the word adorable, but it’s the
only word that truly describes what they looked like. The colors and the
positions of their bodies were adorable.
I searched the Internet and found a web site http://www.RomanceHer.com
that had a number of nice romantic items. I ordered a Scented Gel Candle
in a beautiful champagne glass with a red heart on it, that we lighted
when we returned to our cabin. I ordered a box of 365 red strips of paper,
return address size, with expressions of love on each one, one for every
day of the year. A dozen 2x3 red cards with romantic messages, in red
envelopes. And for Easter Sunday, I spotted two larger Bunnies with
magnetic kissing lips, in the Hallmark section of Bookland. Both were
dressed. The girl bunny in a little skirt and blouse and the boy bunny in
shorts and a top. I also bought five anniversary cards that said the very
things I wanted to say to Mary. Each one spoke my heart in a very special
way.
Being the Bunnies were made of soft material, I was able to stuff all of
them in my carry-on. I was a little apprehensive when I sent it through
the scanner, thinking the magnetic lips might set off the alarm, but thank
God, that didn’t happen.
Mary had no idea what I was up to. When we’re aboard ship, I usually wake
up first, go to the John, then call room service for coffee. Shortly
after, Mary wakes up and makes her visit. That’s when I did my thing. I’d
hurry to the closet and get the valise with the stuffed animals and
quickly select the Bunny of the day. I would put it by the light on her
night table and quickly return the valise to the closet. Wimpy was
delighted when he saw the open-mouthed, surprised look on Mary’s face. She
was truly surprised and delighted. Each morning I repeated the same
routine with some slight variations. Sometimes I would rearrange the ever
enlarging family of bunnies, (as you know, rabbits do multiply rapidly) or
add a few baby chicks to the group.
As the week progressed the table was quite crowded, but it looked great.
After breakfast, and in the evening when we returned to our cabin, we
would find that Irmina, our cabin attendant, used some of our animals to
make cute little grouping on our pillows. It became a contest between the
two of us, who could display them in the most imaginative way. During the
cruise, sometimes at dinner, other times at a lunch, one of the red
envelopes with the romantic messages appeared under Mary’s plate. I would
then open the envelope and read it to Mary. By this time Mary was
completely into it, and I could of told her she was sitting on a spider
and she would have reached for my hand and smiled.
Toward the end of the cruise, when Mary thought Wimpy had done everything
he could possibly do, Wimpy hit a home run. One afternoon when we returned
from the pool, when Mary was showering, wimpy took everything off the bed
except the sheets. He then took the box of 365 red love notes, held the
box over the bed and let them fall like snow over the white sheets. There
was red slips of paper everywhere. The contrast of red against the white
sheets was something to behold. When Mary came out of the bathroom and
looked at the bed, she actually gasped, “What did you do?” I told her,
“Being my memory wasn’t what it used to be, (thank god only my memory has
been affected) Wimpy wanted her to have a love note from Tom, for everyday
of the coming year, to make sure he never forgets to tell Mary, he loves
her.
At appropriate times during the cruise, Mary gave me four of the most
beautiful, meaningful cards imaginable. She wrote a note about our
relationship on each card, in words I will cherish forever. When we
returned home, I added them to my collection of ‘Mary Notes,’ one of which
I read every morning before I pray. As you can well imagine, we had an
anniversary that we will long remember.
Both Mary & I were previously married for 20+ years and with God’s grace,
here we were celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary. Not only were we
celebrating our wedding anniversary, we were also celebrating Wimpy’s 38
anniversary of being in the A.A. program. Mary & I have a lot to be
thankful for. We are indeed fortunate that God has chosen to use us an
example of how He can take troubled lives and make them into something
beautiful.
The more we cruise the more we realize, the things we do and the way we
relate to each other makes our cruises what they are, much more so than
the ship we’re on, or the itinerary we sail. That’s why we say in all our
reviews, regardless of one’s age, we can’t think of a more romantic,
intimate, exciting way to spend quality time with the one you love, than
when cruising... and every cruise we make reinforces that thought... I
know after reading all this romantic stuff... half the men are reaching
for their remote... but for those hearty souls that have endured and are
still with us... Mary & I want to tell you about a very special person we
met.
Holland American
Zuiderdam: 9/2003
http://www.tomandmaryscruisereviews.com/ZuiderdamReview.htm
As soon as our luggage
arrived, Wimpy began Wimpanizing our cabin. I unpacked the short extension
cord with the three outlet connection. I found the Glades Hawaiian Breeze
plugin ( couldn't find our favorite Gardenia Plugins) and inserted it into
one outlet and plugged the night lite into the other. Then I took the can
of the new product, ‘Oust Air Sanitizer' and sprayed the cabin and the
bathroom. By the time I finished with the cabin enhancers, I began to
detect the sweet aroma of the Hawaiian Breeze and out of the corner of my
eye, I could see my Mary smiling. She knew that the transition had taken
place and macho man had been left on the pier and she was going to have
seven wonderful blissful days, now that Tom had taken on his Wimpy
persona.
The balcony was one of the best we have had. Even though we were on the
lowest balcony deck, no one could look down from above. We still had
complete privacy. We had breakfast on our balcony every morning. On
previous cruises, when I woke up, I went to the breakfast area and filled
two thermos with coffee and brought them back to the room. But after I did
this on the first morning, Mary didn't want me to go through all that
trouble and insisted I make it easier on myself by ordering breakfast
through room service. It didn't take Wimpy very long to realize he could
make breakfast into something special for Mary. Each night I filled out
the breakfast card and the preferred time of delivery and placed it on the
cabin door. It never failed to arrive on time. Room service was
exceptional. When it arrived, I awakened Mary and she went about doing the
things women usually do in the morning. As soon as the bathroom door
closed, I hurriedly prepared her coffee with sugar and cream and her
croissants with butter and strawberry jelly, just the way she liked them.
I put them on a tray with my Blueberry muffins and I took them out to the
balcony. When I heard the door of the bathroom open, I went in and took my
lady's arm and escorted her to the balcony. Then with music in the
background and the occasional scent of Hawaiian Breeze in the air, we
enjoyed a romantic breakfast, as we watched the sun slowly rise above the
horizon. (On a number of mornings I placed a card next to her coffee, for
her to read. You know, one of those cards that speaks your heart.) Wimpy
may be a wimp, but he's no dumbbell. He knew what the great American
Philosopher Henry David Thoreau once said was true, "What you do the first
the moments you're awake, will set the tone of your entire day."
We had another great cruise. The reason it was great is always for the
same reason. It's because, Mary & I can't think of a more romantic,
intimate, exciting way of spending quality time with the one you love than
when on a cruise. As we have mentioned a number of times, cruising has
added a new dimension to our life. Sometime ago, toward the end of my
Macho man years I read that relationships are like a garden... they need a
lot of tender loving care and every so often they need a jolt of
fertilizer... to reach the peak of bloom. The seeds of the present Wimpy
persona came from taking that statement to heart and he has learned that a
kind word, a smile, a listening ear, an honest compliment, even the
smallest act of caring or affection, means the world to Mary and that is
something he never wants to forget. If you have never cruised, we suggest
you try it. Like a garden, it might be just the jolt of fertilizer that
your relationship needs.
The Sun Princess: 10/2003
http://www.tomandmaryscruisereviews.com/ZuiderdamReview.htm
The Mainstay of Wimpy’s
Marriage Maintenance: Well-written romantic cards have been a mainstay in
wimpy’s arsenal for his marriage maintenance. You know the ones when you
read them, you can swear the author had you in mind when she/he wrote it.
When I look for romantic cards for Mary, I spend a great deal of time
reading card after card, until I find the ones that express my deepest
thoughts in words that I wish I had said. Mentally, I take ownership of
the thoughts as if I wrote them. Starting the day in a romantic way has
set the tone for all our cruises. Every other morning, while Mary was
freshening up, Wimpy placed one of the cards on her pillow or on the
breakfast table. On other days he did it when we returned from lunch. He
also used Post-Its to write romantic notes that Mary found in the most
unexpected places. He also brought with him a half dozen business size
cards, in bright red envelopes, that had words of a very romantic nature.
Wimpy called them his evening cards. He would wait for just the right
moment to surprise Mary. Sometimes at dinner, sometimes while waiting to
see the show, and occasionally in between dances in the Wheelhouse. Just
when Mary thought Wimpy did everything he was going to do, he really got
her attention. He had seen an advertisement on the Internet, for a box of
365, one sentence love notes, one for every day of the year. Http://www.RomanceHer.com
Wimpy didn’t know what he was going to so with them, but he sent for them
and added them to his arsenal of maintenance tools. There was a mirror on
the wall as we entered our cabin. As women are prone to do, every time
Mary left the cabin she would look in the mirror to see if her hair and
her make up was OK. One day when Mary was in the shower, Wimpy glued a
slew of the one sentence love notes all over the mirror. Mary came out of
the shower and was in the cabin for two hours and never noticed them...
that is until we left for lunch. When she was leaving the cabin, she
looked in the mirror and jumped back in surprise and burst out laughing.
Her first words were, “My God, what have you done!” As she was reading
them, I told her I had taken ownership of everyone of those thoughts. She
smiled at Wimpy with her heart and came over and gave him a big hug and a
kiss. During the ensuing days, every now and then I would see Mary by the
mirror. Later she told me she read every one of those notes of endearment.
As you can tell, we had a lot of fun. One of our secrets of enjoying life
to its fullest, is we try to live our life, one day at a time. When we
cruise, it seems we are able to do that to an even higher degree, by
living one moment at a time. Wimpy tries to do whatever he can to make
those moments, moments that Mary will never forget. Many of those moments
are some of the fondest memories we have and we will carry them in our
hearts forever.
It is very difficult to put into words the feeling Mary & I have when
we’re on a cruise. Although we have a wonderful relationship, there is a
certain something that happens when we cruise that makes it even better. I
think it’s partly because we can give each other our undivided attention
without having the normal interruptions that beg our attention when we’re
home. Ever morning we can have a romantic breakfast. Then during the day,
we do a number of things that interest both of us. When evening
approaches, we can look forward to a romantic dinner, followed by a little
‘hold me tight’ dancing, then proceed to the theater to see a wonderful
show. When I wrote this, I had Mary read it and I asked her to give me her
thoughts. She read it and said, “It reminds me of the time when we were
dating.” Leave it to my Mary. She said in a few words, what that special
feeling is, the feeling we both have when we cruise. We feel like we’re on
an extended date... a date that doesn’t end when the clock strikes
twelve.. but continues each and every day.. for the entire cruise.
Wimpy’s Closing Thoughts
What better way to rediscover each other, than you and your spouse
spending seven romantic days on a cruise ship, alone, without the
children. Just imagine, no kids, no cooking, no shopping, no taxiing, no
dog to walk, no cat to let out, no phone, no beeper, no commitments, just
you and your loved one alone. Being on a cruise, on one of these
magnificent floating resorts is without a doubt, a wonderful and ideal way
for a husband and wife to rekindle the fire of their love. Seven full days
of being with your loved one, in the most romantic, intimate setting
imaginable. A chance to be alone, totally alone with your spouse. You
probably can't remember the last time that happened. Well it can happen,
but you have to make it happen. It's a wonderful way to rediscover the
reasons you married each other. It could add a complete new dimension to
your life.
Our warmest regards,
Wimpy & Mary
TomandMaryMilano@Yahoo.com
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