Congrats!
I just got winded taking the recycling out to the bin.
I just got winded taking the recycling out to the bin.
The world according to IdRatherBeSkiing
- Thread starter IdRatherBeSkiing
- Start date
My son and I are headed to Saskatoon, SK to visit my dad for the long weekend. Flying out in a couple of hours.
My wife's memorial service is next Saturday. It's all coming together very nicely. I am surprised by the number of people who are at least saying they will be attending. A couple of old friends from out of town ... one as far away as Vancouver are coming in. I still got to put together my notes for my remembrance. Also, doing 2 services. One in Toronto and one in WV next spring. We did that so the US family wouldn't need to come to this one. Well, guess who is also coming to this one (and the next one too)?
The planning of this (although 90% of it was done by my wife prior to her passing) has kept me focused. I am still missing her but always good to have stuff to occupy my mind.
Have been cleaning out her e-mails after about a month of neglect. Found out she has a whole bunch of subscriptions which I did not know about. Needless to say the credit card payments failed. I also discovered she had subscribed to about every mailing list on the planet as far as I can tell.
The planning of this (although 90% of it was done by my wife prior to her passing) has kept me focused. I am still missing her but always good to have stuff to occupy my mind.
Have been cleaning out her e-mails after about a month of neglect. Found out she has a whole bunch of subscriptions which I did not know about. Needless to say the credit card payments failed. I also discovered she had subscribed to about every mailing list on the planet as far as I can tell.
Last edited:
I'm glad that the planning is coming together, and it's giving you something to focus on.
I'm not surprised that a lot of people are planning on making the trip, I only met her a couple of times, but she was fun to be around.
I'm not surprised that a lot of people are planning on making the trip, I only met her a couple of times, but she was fun to be around.
Yes, glad you’ve found ways to occupy your thoughts with all that happened. Nice of you to have separate services so less people have to travel far.
Same as my stepfather. I unsubscribed him from probably 100 mailing lists.
Had a lovely day with my sister and dad and son today visiting Little Canada. Then had a nice dinner at the Spaghetti Factory with extended family and friends. Tomorrow is the service. The reality of saying goodbye is starting to sink in.
The service went very well. A couple minor glitches. The food was wonderful. The service was well received. And I was able to read my prepared speech without losing it. I focused on the paper and not the people and I held it together.
I should add about 60-70 people showed up. Some old friends of mine, some work people, and old friends of Robin as well as my family and Robin's.
Tomorrow is my wife's birthday. It will be a difficult day. Some time ago, my son and I decided to make that our box day for the Marlies. So we are having a whole bunch of friends join us for the hockey game in a box. We figured this would be easier than doing it alone. The box for 1 game is a benefit of our season ticket membership. As luck would have it, the Marlies have chosen this date for their "Hockey Fights Cancer" day. Every team choses their own date and I am floored by the choice. A rather bizarre co-incidence. The Leafs chose the date of November 4th for their day. You may remember that as the date of my wife's memorial service. Last year of course my wife joined us in the box but it wasn't on her birthday.
In January 2022, my wife and I went to Antigua. We had booked the same resort again for January 2023. However. we had to reschedule for April and when I did, my wife suggested we try a different resort. We chose Grenada. As the time approached we realized it was not going to happen. We chose instead to do a cruise to Bermuda and we rescheduled the Grenada trip to December. In retrospect it was good because Bermuda was her bucket list trip and she was able to enjoy it before the shit hit the fan.
When my wife passed, I was going to cancel the trip. It is at Sandals which is a couples resort. But my son asked if he could go with. While it is a couples resort, I have heard of several instances of friends and family which have gone. As long as everybody is 21 (or is it 18?) all is kosher. So I changed her name to his and we are heading off in 2 weeks from tomorrow. I am looking forward to it and dreading it at the same time. I fear it will likely be very triggering as we had some wonderful Caribbean vacations. But it will be a week in sunny weather and it will not be a resort I have been to so no direct triggers.
When my wife passed, I was going to cancel the trip. It is at Sandals which is a couples resort. But my son asked if he could go with. While it is a couples resort, I have heard of several instances of friends and family which have gone. As long as everybody is 21 (or is it 18?) all is kosher. So I changed her name to his and we are heading off in 2 weeks from tomorrow. I am looking forward to it and dreading it at the same time. I fear it will likely be very triggering as we had some wonderful Caribbean vacations. But it will be a week in sunny weather and it will not be a resort I have been to so no direct triggers.
I would imagine you and your son can help each other through the tough times. Hopefully, it'll be a time to get a break from everything and reflect. I'd think there have been plenty of times that you've become tired of looking around the apartment.
Last edited:
We are off tomorrow. I took the cheap upgrade to business class. Will make the 5.5 hour flight easier. The irony is my wife always wanted to fly business class once. This is the first flight to the south that it has been offered.
We are here. The flight was awesome. Nice resort. Our room is up a hill. There is no way my wife could have done this. Will do the beach tomorrow.
And thanx @HecticArt you found the magic IP!
And thanx @HecticArt you found the magic IP!
We are back in Toronto. The following post was my review of Sandals Grenada which I posted on the associated facebook group pages. I am re posting it here since it covers my vacation. Re-posting it exactly as I posted there except on Facebook I can do it in 1 part. This will be more. PART 1 of 3.
----
This is my review of my recent stay at Sandals Grenada.
Check in: Su 2023/12/10
Check out: Su 2023/10/17
Room: Pink Gin Oceanview Room (PO)
Class: Luxury
In January 2022, my wife and I enjoyed a week at Sandals Antigua. While there I booked another visit for January of 2023 to the same resort. However, my wife had terminal cancer and circumstances made us have to change the date to April. My wife also wanted to change the resort to a place we have never been so we changed to Sandals Grenada. Circumstances again caused us to change dates to December 2023.
Unfortunately, my wife passed in August. I was originally going to cancel but my son (22 years old) asked if he could come in her place. I spoke to Sandals and they were perfectly ok with the name change given the circumstances. I had the insurance so a complete cancellation would have been possible. With the changes in times and names, Sandals was very easy to deal with and supportive.
Up until I got to the resort, I was unsure how we would actually be received as it is a couples resort. But there were no issues with checkin or anybody else at the resort. I am going to now list what I thought was good and bad about the resort and share my overall opinion at the end. These opinions are mine and my son's. Other people may have had different experiences.
First, I would like to comment on accessibility. If my wife had actually made it to this resort, it would have been an issue. She was confined to an electric wheelchair. Our room was up a very steep hill which her chair would not have been able to make it up or down. The building did have an elevator at the top of the hill. The room was also very small and she would have had issues moving the wheelchair around the room or the bathroom. She would not have been able to go onto the balcony. Several restaurants would also be inaccessible due to stairs. In 2018 when I booked Sandals Royal Plantation (my wife was only restricted by a walker then) the representative did caution us about its mobility challenges and helped us choose an acceptable room and allowed us to make a informed decision. There were no such warnings or cautions with Grenada. With Antigua and Barbados, those resorts are almost flat and while not perfect, were a lot more accessible. So, if you are mobility restricted, I would look elsewhere. But since it was just me and my son, it was not an issue for us.
----
This is my review of my recent stay at Sandals Grenada.
Check in: Su 2023/12/10
Check out: Su 2023/10/17
Room: Pink Gin Oceanview Room (PO)
Class: Luxury
In January 2022, my wife and I enjoyed a week at Sandals Antigua. While there I booked another visit for January of 2023 to the same resort. However, my wife had terminal cancer and circumstances made us have to change the date to April. My wife also wanted to change the resort to a place we have never been so we changed to Sandals Grenada. Circumstances again caused us to change dates to December 2023.
Unfortunately, my wife passed in August. I was originally going to cancel but my son (22 years old) asked if he could come in her place. I spoke to Sandals and they were perfectly ok with the name change given the circumstances. I had the insurance so a complete cancellation would have been possible. With the changes in times and names, Sandals was very easy to deal with and supportive.
Up until I got to the resort, I was unsure how we would actually be received as it is a couples resort. But there were no issues with checkin or anybody else at the resort. I am going to now list what I thought was good and bad about the resort and share my overall opinion at the end. These opinions are mine and my son's. Other people may have had different experiences.
First, I would like to comment on accessibility. If my wife had actually made it to this resort, it would have been an issue. She was confined to an electric wheelchair. Our room was up a very steep hill which her chair would not have been able to make it up or down. The building did have an elevator at the top of the hill. The room was also very small and she would have had issues moving the wheelchair around the room or the bathroom. She would not have been able to go onto the balcony. Several restaurants would also be inaccessible due to stairs. In 2018 when I booked Sandals Royal Plantation (my wife was only restricted by a walker then) the representative did caution us about its mobility challenges and helped us choose an acceptable room and allowed us to make a informed decision. There were no such warnings or cautions with Grenada. With Antigua and Barbados, those resorts are almost flat and while not perfect, were a lot more accessible. So, if you are mobility restricted, I would look elsewhere. But since it was just me and my son, it was not an issue for us.
Last edited: