The time has come to give back to parents

It’s such a joy raising parents. I mean that both tongue-in-cheek and sincerely.

When my dad retired about 5 years ago, I knew it was something that should be celebrated. My dad worked hard his whole life to provide for us through a lot of tough times. He deserves to be treated to something special. My hope was to take my parents on a cruise. I wanted to pool funds between my siblings and come to a consensus on when and where.

I underestimated how difficult it can be to coordinate something with people who have very different ideas of how things should be celebrated. Not only that, but with the three of us in our 20s-30s, it was next to impossible to figure out where to go and when, etc.

Needless to say, I just couldn’t make it work.

About a year later, my boyfriend and I came across some cheap flights to Nashville and asked my parents to on the adventure. To my surprise, they accepted — but that will have to be a blog for another day.

Fast forward to roughly September 2024.

I was researching cruises again through various lines and it struck me – the time to take them on a cruise is now.

After many phone calls with my parents – timid about the idea of going on a far-away trip – and getting nowhere, I realized I had to be decisive.

“I’m booking a cruise for this time next year. You and dad are coming,” I told my parents.

Flooded with “what-ifs,” mainly from my dad, I asserted that we would make it work. We had plenty of time to prepare. I was careful to book with a credit card that had travel insurance to calm some anxieties. I used Capital One Quicksilver because they offered $200 cash back when you spend $500 and 0% APR for 15 months, among other perks like 2% back on travel that appealed to me, but there are many to choose from.

Now we’re two months out from setting sail. It’s getting real.

Mom is has been paying more attention to her health and Dad – who might purchase one piece of clothing every two years – is shopping for shirts.

There’s and air of excitement between them that I haven’t seen in years. It’s a proud moment. While I know my parents are stepping out of their comfort zone, they’re going to have the time of their lives and will want to go back again and again.