January 10, 2013 19:57 before the time changes back, off the coast of Cuba, I think

Tonight we went to see a production show. It was really good, like everything else on this cruise. We have been to dinner in the main dining room only twice this cruise, and tonight was one of those nights. It was formal night, so we were decked out in our finery, with me in a long black dress I got from Savers for $12 about three years ago, and Sweetie in his nice jacket from Dillard’s with some nice dress pants and a tie. He was, as always, very handsome. I thought I looked pretty good, for a fourth-something. With only one more day at sea before traveling home, I am trying desperately to hold on to the feeling of vacation before going back to school and work. Only 128 days separate me and freedom from law school, so I am counting my blessings on that. Then there is the bar, which frankly scares me to death. But, if some of these folks can pass it, surely I can.

Tonight, before we came back down to the deck, I peeked out our balcony to see how high the surf and waves were, as they were quite high earlier today. The seas have noticeably calmed down, as w are on a northerly track back to Florida.

Up in the sky were the stars, which I never get to see at home. There are simply too many ambient lights to see the stars, and I miss them dearly.  I remember once, the first time I went to Phoenix, the group with whom I was traveling (it was a business meeting, my first where I was the business person and not the spouse) went out into the desert for a tour and a campfire. We had an authentic cowboy cookout, complete with the cowboy singing tunes with his guitar and the roaring campfire where the cooked the beans and meat. It was fantastic, but the best part for me was the sky. I remember singing the Eagles song in my head, “I want to sleep with you in the desert tonight, with a billion stars all around”.  There were literally a billion, or at least many more than I could count in one evening. It was cold, but I loved it. Every time I either hear that song or go to the desert, I think of that night and how it felt to be me.

The other thing I always think about on a starry night is Orion’s Belt. When I was a kid, my Dad told me that the three stars, all in a line, always point East. I rode three wheelers a lot, we lived in the country (where star sighting was abundant), and my Dad was and still is the outdoor type. He told me that if I ever got lost at night, to look for those three stars, knowing that I was headed east, or to use those to tell which direction in which to head.

Although I have because been lost at night, I know that I could find my way using the stars. But every time I see those stars, I think about a Dad concerned for his little girl – me.  And that always makes me smile, remembering the way he taught me to use those stars to find my way.

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