Glimpses Into the Future

In a sea of over 300 photos there has to be some good ones and there are, but of all of the photos from our most recent sailing on the Disney Fantasy, the photo above is one of my favorites.  Here’s why. . .

When we were preparing for our very first Disney Cruise in 2007 I read or heard (think podcasts) somewhere that when cruising with your children you get glimpses of them as their older more mature self.  This has been true for us on every cruise and yet this time, we have a photo that captures that glimpse.

We watched our son navigate room service, plan his day, make new friends both in and out of the clubs, and find his way around the ship.  On the afternoon we first came on board, he got mixed up as to which side of the ship our stateroom was on and was a bit lost for a while, but he problem solved.   We saw him order his meals trying new foods and discovering new favorites.  Escargot was gulped up without reservation as were a variety of sea foods.  He can order sea bass and crème brulee like a pro! 

He also took responsibility for his time indicating what time he would meet us or return to the stateroom and making sure he followed through.  Even though I was sleeping, I was told the story of how he returned to our stateroom one night shortly after 1:00 am, as the Edge closed at 1:00 and asked to go with his friends to another location.  The husband said no.  When I heard the story I giggled.  We were prepared for him to stay in the Edge until it closed, but we weren’t prepared for our 13 year old to be asking to go to the “after party”! 

This event did open the door for the conversation about what is okay on the ship—you can go with your friends to a public place on the ship like the pool or D-Lounge, but you cannot go in someone else’s stateroom unless we had met the parents/family.  When we cruised a year and a half ago, he had met a friend at the airport before we had even boarded the bus to the port and we did get to meet the dad.  The two boys did spend time in both staterooms because it had met the criteria we had mentioned above. 

During the evening shows, he has specific places he wants to sit in the Walt Disney Theater and sometimes it means not sitting with us.  That’s okay, as we know where he is.  And, once again, he managed to get himself on stage during the John Cassidy show and even got $1.00 for it.  When he sits by himself, he visits with the people near him. 

I enjoy getting glimpses of the young man he is turning into and can’t wait to see more!