The Adventure Begins (And Yes, We’re the Mean Parents in First Class)

The Adventure Begins (And Yes, We’re the Mean Parents in First Class)

🌼 Date: April 1, 2026

⚡ Energy: Vacation Mode Warming Up

💓 Status: Cold, Masked, and Ready for Adventure

🌞 Outlook: Galveston Tonight, Cruise Tomorrow!

The birthday cruise adventure officially began today!

We woke up early, grabbed our bags, and headed to the airport to start our journey to Galveston, Texas. The cruise ship doesn’t leave until tomorrow, but we learned long ago that you never risk flying in the same day you board a ship. Flights get delayed, cancelled, rerouted, or decide to have emotional breakdowns for absolutely no reason.

And missing the ship would be a terrible way to start a vacation.

So we played it safe and flew down the day before.

Now let’s talk about the plane for a minute.

First of all… it was FREEZING.

And when you have no hair, you realize very quickly that hair apparently serves a very important purpose: keeping your head warm.

Even though I had a sweatshirt on, my head and neck were freezing. Luckily, I remembered to bring a scarf, which quickly turned into a multi-purpose survival accessory.

Head wrap.
Neck warmer.
Face shield.

Because when I started hearing the sneezing and coughing orchestra somewhere behind us, that scarf went right over my mask for extra protection.

Cancer may have taken my hair, but it did not take my ability to improvise.

And yes… Casey and I were sitting in first class.

But before anyone thinks we’ve suddenly become fancy travel snobs, let me clarify something.

This is not new behavior.

Casey and I have always flown first class… while the kids sit back in coach.

Now apparently that rule also applies to girlfriends, friends, and even beloved aunties.

Yes.

We are those parents.

Cruel? Maybe.

Comfortable? Absolutely.

Somewhere between chemo, surgeries, and radiation planning, we decided if we were going to travel, we might as well travel comfortably.

While we were up in the air, I snapped a picture of the most beautiful puffy clouds floating below us. It was one of those moments where you look out the window and realize the world is a lot bigger than the little bubble you’ve been living in lately.

And that felt good.

Once we landed in Texas, the whole crew piled into our rental car, which I have officially named:

“A Barrel Full of Monkeys.”

Because that is exactly what it looked like.

This cruise isn’t just for my birthday.

Yes, I turn 55 on April 3rd, which apparently means I will officially be a senior citizen. Ugh.

But Casey’s birthday is April 5th, and so is Nicholas’s.

For those who have followed our story for a long time, Nicholas came into our lives through foster care. When we got the call to pick up a newborn baby from the hospital, we saw his little bassinet tag with his birthdate — April 5th — and there was an instant connection.

A few weeks later the caseworker told us he had a two-year-old sibling already in care, and the case looked like it might end in adoption.

Would we consider taking both?

Um… yes.

Just like that, we went from having one boy and one girl to two boys and two girls overnight.

And we wouldn’t change a thing.

So this trip ended up being a triple birthday celebration:

🎂 My 55th
🎂 Casey’s 54th
🎂 Nicholas’s 21st

Nicholas didn’t want to travel alone in a room by himself, so we brought his girlfriend Lily along.

Then our friend Marnie wanted to go, but she didn’t want to pay for a room alone, so she invited my Aunt Dee.

Which is how we ended up with a party of six.

And let me tell you…

We had an absolute blast. But the rest of the story is yet to come…

By the time we got to our hotel in Galveston that night, everyone was tired from traveling but excited for the next day.

Tomorrow we board the ship.

And after the past few months of hospitals, appointments, scans, and treatments…

This little escape was exactly what the doctor ordered.

💗 Tina –
One Badass Day at a Time