Coffee Talk #163: Cruisin’ to the end of 2019

Gather ’round!  Grab your cup and let’s chat.

If we were having coffee together today, I’d say Hello from Belize! We’re slowly cruising into port as I type this. This is a tendering port, so we’ll board a smaller ship from our cruise ship to go ashore. We have a fun, adventurous day planned – a hike in the jungle, cave tubing, and zip-lining. I’m ready for some action compared to yesterday’s super chill beach day in Honduras.

If we were having coffee together today, I’d tell you that we’re halfway through our end-of-the-year cruise. We’ve been enjoying cruises together for the past few years during the holidays. This year, we opted to go away during Christmas week, which is honestly easier for both of our work schedules (side note for any cruise enthusiasts – it’s also WAY less expensive to cruise during Christmas vs. New Year week). I’ve waxed poetic about Skipping Christmas several times before, but this was more about timing than anything. Instead of worrying about fitting into the holiday, I’m figuring out how to make the holiday work best for me and my little family. We found a 7-day cruise to the Western Caribbean, venturing to three new (to us) countries – Honduras, Belize, and Cozumel, Mexico. Last year, our cruise to Havana was all about the destination. This year we wanted to travel to new countries again, but on a bigger ship.

If we were having coffee together today, I’d tell you that we also sprang for a balcony on this cruise, and have agreed that we can likely never go back. The room is so much bigger, and being able to type this with a cup of coffee on our balcony is the best. Even with a larger ship and more people, we’ve had very few occasions where we really felt like there were more people. There’s plenty of ship for everyone, and we’ve always found a place near the adults-only section of the top deck.

If we were having coffee together today, I’d spend a little time reflecting on the past year. We did this last week, but I want to go a little deeper and think about my word of 2019: Priority.

I set goals, but all of them are related to my word of the year. This keeps me honest and focused, and gives me the ability to change goals as needed. I did a great job keeping my work in check, saying no to several opportunities that did not serve me (hard) and keeping my part-time job in check (harder, at first). I also let go of a work opportunity at the end of the year, because it started to interfere with my yoga training and my fitness and wellness goals. This stuff is hard, y’all, especially when you are used to being an overachiever (I consider myself a recovering overachiever). Why achieve things for others when it does zero for you and your priorities? Why deliver more than is expected if it doesn’t align with your life and needs?

If we were having coffee together today, I’d tell you that my word of 2020 has not yet come to me, but I plan to meditate on it this weekend and have something to share for next week’s post. I have a few ideas in mind. The 25 Days of Buti Yoga challenge I participated in this year had us reflect on some goals for the New Year, which I shared here.

If we were having coffee together today, I’d tell you that I’ve enjoyed several classes on board – boot camp and yoga – and we’ve made good use of the gym and outdoor jogging track. I think it would be fun to lead fitness and wellness initiatives on a cruise or at a resort, and those goals are on my to-do list to figure out in 2020.

Do you set goals for the year? BIG goals, small goals, one goal, lots of goals?