#125 - When Life Gives You Lemons, Go to the Caribbean
A missed wedding and eye-watering Muskoka cottage prices send Damian and Kat on a last-minute all-inclusive dash to Cancun — booked at 2 AM Monday, wheels-up Friday. Between poolside margaritas and parent-to-parent chats, they rediscover themselves in the remix of family life.
When Life Gives You Lemons, Go to the Caribbean
When Life Gives You Lemons, Go to the Caribbean!
Well, here we are, knee-deep in what many Canadians consider prime wedding season. This year, attending a particular wedding took on a different meaning for us. We were set to celebrate a very important day for a friend, but sometimes, life throws unexpected twists, and despite our best intentions, we weren't able to be there.
Sometimes life hands you a basket of lemons right when you expect wedding cake!
But instead of letting those lemons get us down, we decided to make some serious lemonade. Our initial thought for a getaway was the quintessential Canadian dream: a cottage in Muskoka. After all, it's a common refuge this time of year, a slice of lakeside serenity. We quickly found, however, that Muskoka cottage prices have absolutely skyrocketed! It became far more economical to fly all the way to the Caribbean or Mexico for an all-inclusive escape. So, when life gave us cottage sticker shock, we packed our bags for the beach.
As anyone who knows us can attest, we don't just pick a place and go. Our first thought, my personal longing, was Jamaica. It's the place I was born, and with Alyce also being Jamaican, I had a strong desire to take her there. Sadly, Jamaica proved to be quite costly. Even after hours of back and forth and trying every points trick and tip I could think of, we discovered it wasn't always the best deal compared to the value we found in a traditional all-inclusive package. More lemons, but we were determined to make the sweetest lemonade possible.
Ultimately, Katerina found a really nice place called Ocean Riviera Paradise. And after a couple of calls to the hotel and Air Canada Vacations, we were able to score some pretty nice upgrades. Yes, I'm always looking for that deal and the best experience. You only live once, right! We booked this trip on Monday at 2:00 AM and boarded our flight to Cancun on Friday at 6:00 AM. Talk about a last-minute dash, and with a toddler to boot!
We've been here for two days now, and I can tell you, sometimes you don't realize how badly you need to recharge your batteries until you completely unplug. Both Katerina and I were spent – between Alyce, work, our relationship, and family, it takes a lot, and sometimes we don't really have time for each other. The one thing we do have is this newsletter! In fact, we're writing this very dispatch from the hotel bar at 9:45 PM on a Saturday. Alyce is sleeping soundly, people are talking all around us, and here we are, doing what we love. Don't get us wrong, we've been drinking responsibly all day. The table we've commandeered has four tequila shots, and we're working on mango and strawberry margaritas. So if this week's newsletter is not coherent, blame it on the alcohol.
As for Alyce, what can I say? She's fully starting to communicate, and her personality is really coming out. Spending this time with her is a blessing. Every time she has both mommy and daddy to herself, it’s like she has a mental growth spurt. I'm not going to say that we are 100% out of the woods with her, but let's just say that good purées are becoming a thing of the past. She now knows what "real people food" is, and when she doesn't get it, she tells us about it – big time!
Poolside Chronicles: A Remix of Connections
One of the undeniable charms of an all-inclusive resort is the pool bar. In my younger days, these were prime spots for classic vacation banter. You'd inevitably strike up conversations with fellow travelers, asking the standard questions: "Where are you folks from?" "How long have you been here?" and, of course, the ever-important "Any tips or hidden gems you've discovered on the resort?" It was always about those initial surface-level connections, gathering intel for the rest of your trip.
This time, however, the pool bar offered a beautifully different kind of connection, a different flavor of lemonade, if you will. I found myself chatting with another parent, and while some of the old questions still applied, the conversation quickly shifted. Instead of comparing home towns, we were comparing notes on our kids – "How old is yours? Mine's just about the same!" We talked about the joys and challenges of parenthood, sharing what we're actively trying to teach our children, from patience to curiosity.
It was a stark reminder that while times certainly change, and our priorities evolve, the essence of human interaction remains constant. At the end of the day, that's truly what it's all about. As Alyce gets older, I'm realizing more and more that I'm not giving up a part of myself. Instead, I'm rediscovering all the things I've done and loved, but with a new spin. It's like a remix – familiar beats with a fresh, exciting rhythm, much like turning life's lemons into something unexpectedly sweet.
Love Damian & Katerina and Alyce