I take pride in always keeping my word! As most of you may know, before James passed away, he created a bucket list. I made every effort to complete it for him. I wanted to make sure the rest of his life was the best it could be because we knew his cancer was terminal. It sucks we didn’t get the opportunity to check off everything together. One of the most important things on the list was to see the northern lights. He didn’t get to see them after two trips to Alaska. But I promised him I would continue to chase them for him, and on my 3rd trip in 2021, we saw them. Unfortunately, James had already passed away. I was happy that I gave him my word, and I delivered. I am now determined to continue working on his bucket list.
A cruise was one of the things James really wanted to take me on. I never found cruises to be of interest to me, so we always opted out of cruise vacations. While creating his bucket list, we negotiated that I would go on a cruise with him if he agreed to take dance lessons with me. He suggested we start with something short and sweet before we embark on a real cruise. I agreed because he knew how badly I wanted to dance with him. Unfortunately, we never got to go on our cruise or have our dance lesson.
This past January, I was awarded the 2023 President’s Club. The President’s Club is an employee recognition program that recognizes top performers within an organization. I was completely humbled to receive this.
Not only do I get bragging rights for this achievement, but I also get to go on a once-in-a-lifetime trip. I get to spend almost two weeks in Europe, starting in Athens. I will spend a few days there before embarking aboard the Ritz Carlton Yacht “Evrima” to travel to Montenegro, Croatia, and ending in Venice, Italy. I will spend a few more days in Venice before coming back home. I have never imagined planning a vacation on a yacht if it wasn’t for this amazing opportunity. Although I know my hard work, passion, and commitment to patients is what got me here, I like to believe James had a hand in fulfilling his bucket list like I promised. The best part of this is I get to take someone with me. I am sure you can agree that I wish it was James joining me. But I am also happy our oldest daughter will get to experience this with me. Our other two children made the decision easy because they didn’t seem too interested, and they knew how much Andrea had always wanted to go to Italy. I am nervous about flying anywhere for over 5 hours, but traveling business class will help make the trip easier; that and maybe a couple of drinks on the plane.
James and I loved to travel, but traveling internationally was something we had never done, mostly because of my anxiety about being stuck on a plane that long. I am looking forward to disconnecting and getting outside my comfort zone. I am more excited to take you all along with me.
I am taking recommendations if anyone would like to share any must-dos.
Thanks for buckling up, sticking around, and being my biggest supporters. I can’t wait to share all the pictures and memories with everyone.