turn down

before i forget, i am reading this saturday at harlem book fair, it's a young reader's reading, so i'll be keeping it pg, but it's a reading in harlem nonetheless. i go on at 4:30pm, at countee cullen library, young reader's pavillion.

friday night, i am presenting my writing process to the latino authors and writers society in nyc, also meeting in harlem, at la casa azul bookstore, 6:30pm.

okay, business aside,

i just returned from a seven day cruise. can i just say that seven days is far too long on a cruise. it was american overindulgence at its utmost. the sheer quantity of food, not to mention food wasted, was jaw dropping. we could feed a small country with the remainders from one cruise ship, of this i am sure. the alcohol was flowing, and there seemed to be no stopping it. oddly enough, i was dry the entire time. i drank lemon water, the occasional iced tea. but mostly just lemon water the entire trip. so i was stone cold sober watching this parade of excess waddle by.

perhaps the best thing, no, the best thing for me was turn down service. i've never been a frequenter of fancy hotels. never had anyone fluff my pillows and turn down my sheets while i'm at dinner. it was such a joy to come back to my cabin and snuggle into fresh clean beds, not made or washed by me. only a mom can appreciate this aspect of a cruise. i guess if i could be faulted for excess, this would have been the way. i did use towels only once (i confess), and i went through my share of beach towels poolside. but mostly, i was grateful to see the housekeeping staff smiling every time i encountered them in the hallway. i wore my jingly anklet and many of them would light up and smile when i jingled by. when i wouldn't wear it, they would mention it. so i wore it for them mostly, by the end of the week.

it was, the best part of the cruise for me, leaving my cabin a disaster (i was sharing with two teenage girls), and returning to order restored. and not being the one restoring or enforcing order. it was truly luxurious.

let me just savor that a bit longer.

i enjoyed having so much care put into looking after me. i would like to find the soul who will do that for me willingly, as i will do it in return.

that will be a great day, when i have that realization.

and i will savor it then, as i am savoring this memory now.

turn down service is simply divine.