My husband, Charlie, and I recently took a cruise -- our first time alone together in 12 years -- and the kids stayed with my folks which wasn’t bad as the two older ones were in school until 2 days before we got back. My youngest, on the other hand, did not do well with us leaving. The last memory I had was of her face screaming and red as if someone was hurting her. Then of course the onboard movie was, "I am Sam" and I was PMS-ing. Very bad emotional combo to say the least. Needless to say I spent a majority of the "vacation" counting the days to get home!

We have a neighbor who is a DEA agent who met us at the Newark Airport and parked our vehicle while we were gone. The airport had adventures of its own and oh yeah, the Lord heard me beggin' for a safe trip! First, it was off to Spain, Florence, and Pisa which we decided to do on our own. This was a great decision as I had been there already and knew which sights to spend more time at but of course, it was a Monday and alot of what I wanted to see was closed on Monday—go figure! By this time, my hormones were at their height as while Charlie was discussing the kids at dinner, I could not stop uncontrollably sobbing and had to leave the dining room -- informing the ladies at the other two tables that my husband does not beat me, I just really miss my kids! Was able to calm myself in the bathroom after a good 5 minutes and some cold water! Then it was off to Rome for a fun day and food that was out of this world.

That night back onboard the ship, we are in the dining room and hear, "Will Mr. Tafuri please report to the pursers desk!" Okay, Charlie does the OJ gazelle thing through the dining room and I now have my heart in my eyeball sockets. You see, I know that my mom would absolutely not contact us unless there was some family tragedy and I mean that! The waiter is smiling and I look at him and explain that this is not funny and something is really not right! He replies that he thinks he can tell what has happened as it is common at times. I said, "Well then, please DO!" He explained that when you come back on the ship and show them your card, they put it through the computer to clock you back onboard, and sometimes it doesn’t go in right. This makes them think you have not gotten back onboard and they don’t want to leave port without you. Well, that’s exactly what happened! Out of 2600 passengers, my husband is the one AND ONLY card that doesn’t clock in right! Crisis averted.

So next it was off to Naples, Sorrento, Capri and Pompeii. We took the tour of Pompeii with the group which was great as I had seen it once before but each guide tells it differently, so we really enjoyed it. Next it was off to Greece. The people there do nothing but take their families and go to the beach on the weekend. Needless to say any beach is no more than 10 minutes away and they all use local buses which really eliminates traffic. We saw all the ruins and the water was unbelievable shades of the most beautiful blue you have ever seen! Next, to Venice where they are experiencing an unseasonable heat wave! We went out at 8:50 am and were back onboard the ship by 1 pm as it was just too hot! We waited 'til that evening to go back out and then had a great time. Sitting out on the balcony was very relaxing and the sunsets were marvelous! I'd enjoyed my time away, but was then ready to get home to my kids.

The morning we were to return, AirFrance goes on strike and our airline holds a one hour sympathy strike! So we wait and are told if we don’t get out on the runway by 4 pm (flight was originally scheduled for 2) we may have to hang around for quite a while. I'm in the "look people, I really need to see my kids before I have to kill someone" mode and Charlie is frantic about getting on the runway before 4! So we are both a mess! It's finally time to board the plane and who do they pick out of everyone to play the "let’s see if you’re a terrorist game"? You guessed it! ME!!! The agent completely empties my bag as the plane fills. We are eventually allowed to dump everything back inside and high-tail it to our seats. The plane ride back is an hour longer than going and the food is horrible (like most airline food). The clincher is that just as we land and are almost to the gate it begins to pour and golfball sized hail descends upon us. We then hear, "Will Mr. & Mrs. Tafuri report to the gate on disembarking." Charlie immediately turns gray. I remind him our DEA agent friend was probably just making it easier for us to clear customs, which on a very happy note was just what it was! So home we go to our three very appreciative to have mom and dad back home children. It'll, uh, be awhile before we try to vacation again.

Submitted by Norah Tafuri, NJ