March 18th, 2020 Day 74 of 128 (78)

Good morning from somewhere off the coast of Australia. Today is project Linus day. They pulled out and display they over 320 blankets that have been completed to date. They had them all laid out around the area where we sat and crocheted them and then they took a picture with all the blanket makers in it. It was a blessed sight to see all these blankets that were created to go to such a great cause. The captain made an announcement today basically stating that now, if you did not make your flight arrangements through Holland America, they would start helping passengers who still needed assistance to do so. Then it was back to the room for more packing and organizing. I am struggling with taking too much, not enough, everything…. I don’t anticipate getting my suitcase back for months, I don’t know how long we will be in Hawaii, I don’t know what we will have access to when we are there. I do feel some peace after having my son call the Aulani this morning and they told him they currently have no plans to close at this time. Also, all resteraunts are currently open for business on the property as well.   Hoping we can relax to some point while we are there. Then the stress level of several passengers went through the roof. Many passengers received a notification that their flight home got cancelled. It was almost the straw that broke the camels back. Guest service got bombarded with passengers (again) as people panicked about how they are getting home. There was a strong security presence today near guest services. It got pretty loud and my understanding is there was an escalating tension that was calmed down and handled exceptionally by staff. To date it looks like Qantas Airlines is ceasing service on March 30^th. Blessedly our flights are on the 23^rd and I am so prayerful that we get to Hawaii without incident. We are expecting extensive health checks and I am not excited about stepping out of our bubble into the reality of exposure to germs. But we have no other choice. Tonight Holland America celebrated it’s 147^th birthday in the dining room. It was all things orange, as that is one of Holland America’s signature colors. It was also the opportunity for the choir, which Valerie is a part of, to perform in the dining room for all the guests. They performed at 5:30 and then again at 8:30. Valerie was beaming and smiled and was so excited to be able to be in her performance element. I am an incredibly proud mommy, I videoed it for those who wish to see it later. We had also pre ordered a special meal. Don’s absolute favorite cut of meat was a tomahawk chop steak. We had planned to order them for his birthday celebration on April 11^th, but seeing as we won’t be here, we had it early. Two of the largest steaks I have ever seen were served to and then cut and served tableside to mom, the girls and I. It was so delicious. We have some great pictures I will get posted once we land somewhere as internet is so slow right now. So the girls are off enjoying time being kids. I am exhausted. I have hardly slept in four days. The boys are doing so great at home and we are keeping in close touch. Please keep these upcoming days in your prayers for our travel. We are praying for you all, primarily for you to stay healthy, for you to stay sane, and for us all to remember to just breathe!! Love and Hugs. Debra