My grandparents Woodsy and Bobbie Harper were cruise people, ahem, PRINCESS CRUISE people…as in The Love Boat people, during my formative years. This was great for us because they took our family along on several voyages and as a result, my brother and I got to see many of the world’s most beautiful places before we flew the coop — places like the fjords of Norway, Hawaii and islands throughout the Caribbean and beyond. It was grand, and the people working on the cruise actually looked like the characters my grandmother loved on the television, which was so star-striking and journal-worthy. I mean look at those people, that’s an actual Julie McCoy on the right palming my brother’s sweet Members Only threads.

These trips were memorable for many reasons. First, they were fodder for family lore. They inspired stories we still howl over today — the breakdance competition, the old guy with the weird bag, cigarette smoking with our crazy Aunt Carolyn and of course, her unbeatable stateroom pranks, which included putting one end of a toilet paper roll into the latrine, unfurling it down the hall and then running to push the vacuum powered flusher so the TP streamer would fly down the hall and be sucked into the depths of the commode. Cruises with Bobbie and Pampaw were also memorable because it was one of the few times we got gussied up for dinner. But mostly, these adventures stand out because it was something we all did together — we took in new sights, cultures and settings together. We shared moments of wonder and awe and wow — it was a tremendous gift! I am endlessly grateful to my grandparents for investing in our experiences. By so doing, they created a legacy I would like to perpetuate in my own family in our second half.

People love to bust on cruises, and I get it. They’re big and people-packed and the hot tubs are suss, and COVID singlehandedly changed people’s perspective of cruise glamor. So if it’s not going to be a Princess cruise with your family and grandchildren, what will it be? Where will you go? How will you make it happen? What can you do now to create memories and moments for your family that will define your legacy when you’re gone? Whether it’s through travel or weekend getaways or fun outings, building relationship and legacy through shared experience is really important work. “Come aboard. we’re expecting you. Love, life’s sweetest reward. Let it flow, it floats back to you.”