Compliments, I'll take them whenever I can get them

The Natural Arch

We had a nice week.  I started feeling better later that day after I had dropped the first couple of pills into my system.  The car was rented for only three days, we didn't  need it for the whole week, so we drove out to the natural arch.  It was absolutely beautiful.  I understand it is no longer there, washed away over the years.

We rented a scooter for a day to explore the downtown area.  The water front was so beautiful with all the large resorts and breath taking landscapes, but when you left that developed property, you saw what life really was like on this island.  Very poor. Had you not known where you were, one might imagine you were witnessing life a century ago.  People lived in dilapidated shacks, no cars, wild boar roaming freely as well as goats and dogs. How could these people live in these conditions and how did they feel, working at these resorts with the best amenities money could buy to only go home at night to an aluminum shed? No air conditioning, no posh furniture to relax on, I wondered if they had indoor plumbing.

Visiting downtown Aruba

But on the beach front, the landscape drew the life out of you with its beauty. The music piped through outdoor speakers that I dare any one to find as they were hidden among the foliage. Water falls cascading through the resort with paved paths that took you from the beach back to your room through this sculpted jungle. There were five resorts at the time and each one was just more exquisite than the next.  We were staying at the Holiday Inn and it was nice, but it was under construction. It didn't matter, I was there for the beach, the sun and to enjoy the company of my new husband.

Chappy called Min on Tuesday, it was her birthday.  We had been there  72 hours and he'd spoken to her more times on the phone than I could dream of.  I never called my parents. They would hear from me through the post card I sent and when I got home, to share with them my adventure. Chappy spent another hour on the phone informing Min of our trip to smurf land.  Laughing at my expense which would become habit forming for them over the years.

We were scheduled to fly out on Saturday, mid afternoon, we'd arrive in Detroit, pick up our car and drive home.  Our estimated arrival time would be in the wee hours of the night.  Chappy had called Min to tell her we were leaving and he'd call again when we landed on American soil.  She'd be waiting to hear, it didn't matter what time, he was to call.

Opening gifts

She informed him all of our wedding gifts were at her house and we were to come out first thing on Sunday morning to go to church and open our gifts.  He told me the news and I assured him by the time we arrived, unpacked the car and got into bed, getting up to drive to Westphalia for church would not sound appealing to either of us.  I asked him to call her and tell her, we'd be out later that week to open presents. But when he called, she was insistent that we drive out that day.  She was not going to have our gifts taking up space in her house.  The guilt trip was laid out before us, we'd be out, but later in the day. It was the last day of our honeymoon and tomorrow we had to return to work after two weeks off.

We opened our gifts.  No surprises really.  Every time I opened up a set of towels or sheets, comments were made, seeking my approval that the correct brand, color and thread count were provided.  Min didn't understand the thread count, but when I told her 180 thread count pilled and 200 didn't she had to test drive a set and you never found any thing under 200 in her house after that. She loved the feel of the smoothness of the sheet and how well they ironed. Yes, Min always ironed her sheets.  Loved sleeping on them, but you would not find ironed sheets at my house, no matter how much she tried to guilt me into doing just that.

I immediately started writing thank you notes.  Not Chappy. He worked.  So did I, but I guess he thought his job was more important.  I didn't know these people who gave us gifts, but I wrote each card with a personal note thanking them for attending the wedding andthanking them for the specific gift.  There was no generalization to my note, it was specific to the person and gift.

Weeks later we were sitting at the dining room table, playing cards at Min and John Boy's, "I've been getting feed back on your thank you cards.  Everyone just loves that you wrote a kind word and specifically noted whatever they gave the two of you, you are quite the Cindy there."

It was as close to a compliment that she could give me.  The last time she complimented me was as we stood for a picture after the wedding, she leaned in to tell me I was a very beautiful bride and her Chappy was one lucky man. She would never tell me that again either, I was the one that was so lucky to have him, according to her.