Monday, March 3, 2014

A Funny Reason to Not Go on a Cruise


This may only be funny to my family, but it was worth remembering.  Yesterday, my wife, kids, and I visited my parents, who are both in their 80's.  Both are in relatively good health for their respective ages, though they have plenty of ailments that have kept them from golfing and vacationing for many years.  Mom has knee problems, and Dad has Myasthenia Gravis, which makes him weak.  Dad also does breathing treatments and has oxygen therapy several times a day and at night.  To breathe the oxygen, Dad uses a nasal cannula (say "KAN-yuh-luh"). This is a thin tube with two prongs that fit just inside your nose.  What does that have to do with a cruise, you might wonder.  Keep reading...

We were sitting in the living room talking about various things, and the subject of vacations came up.  We noted that we were not sure of our vacation plans this year, but that a cruise would be fun.  Lori then said to my parents, "You know, you should go on a cruise with us.  Do you think you would ever want to do that?"

Mom promptly answered, "Oh no," and then took her two index fingers and put them up to her nose.  I understood the pantomime right away.  Mom was referring to Dad's oxygen therapy.  I'm sure there are other reasons, but that was the one she thought of first.

Lori had another interpretation.  "You don't know how to swim?"  Lori asked, just a serious as she could be.  We all laughed hysterically for minutes as we contemplated that on many levels.