Take Me Back to the Titanic

 

I'm back!

April has been full of some fun things - we attended our 5th grader's first musical concert. 

She's been learning how to play the ukulele after school because her wonderful music teacher wanted to have a ukulele group to play for school functions. She only invited a handful of her students, ones she thought would really work hard and C was one of them. She LOVES it and we're so proud.

I found someone on Etsy to make a tiny replica of my wedding dress for my Sally doll and I freaking love it. I know it's silly but these little things make me happy.

Our cat, Tigger, had a perfect and beautiful little kitten which we've named Snowball. She actually had 3 kittens but 2 of them were gone in just a few hours but Snowball, the last one to be born, is a fat little guy (girl? who knows?) and seems to be very healthy so fingers crossed. He moves around a lot, already has his eyes opening and I think he'll be running the whole house before he's even 4 weeks old.

We're all already in love with him, even Charlie is fascinated and doesn't seem to mind (too much) that he's taken over her bed.

But, by far, the best thing that happened in April was that I got to attend a Titanic speakers conference. I have been a Titanic enthusiast ever since they first discovered the wreck in 1985. Of course I'd been aware of the disaster from 1912 but this was the first time I realized how beautiful the ship had been, how opulent the furnishings and clothes were in 1912 and I think that's when I officially fell in love with historic fashion.

The movie in 1997 was fun to see on the big screen and there was something magical about feeling like I was actually walking the decks. I could have cared less about the fiction story taking place and when I re-watch the movie these days I actually stop when they hit the iceberg because I only watch it to catch a glimpse of life aboard the ship for those 4 days.

When the 100th anniversary rolled around (2012) I desperately wished I could have taken part in one of the many events that were taking place all over the world but we weren't in a place to travel anywhere so we settled for watching the movie in a theater again since they re-released it for the anniversary.

Last year the Titanic exhibit in Orlando announced their first ever Speakers Conference and I signed up to go but then had to cancel almost immediately so when they announced they were doing it again this year, I jumped on it so hard and vowed that nothing and no one was going to keep me from it.

I kept that vow - I attended the event and it was amazing and inspirational and even more than I'd hoped it would be!

The Titanic exhibit has been in Orlando for years and Taz and I visited it a few times, even dragging my brother in law along one time. It's down the street from my job but I have not stopped by in the last 5 years so it was great to be back and see all the exhibits and artifacts again.

The speakers were all the top names in Titanic history since 1985 including several people who have been on numerous drives. My favorite speaker talked about life in 1912 and she was great but I couldn't help but think how I might do a presentation like that differently which has inspired me to put together my own presentation to give to local schools and libraries. I have a collection of Titanic books here in Florida with me (and I try not to think about all the ones that got left behind in California) so I'm going to start researching again.

I really want to put an emphasis on afternoon tea on the Titanic because that's the epitome of luxury and it allows me to talk about the differences in the services for 1st class, 2nd class and 3rd class.

The conference lasted for 2 days so I spent more time in Orlando that week than I ever do which meant a lot of time on the road (it's a 2 hour drive each way if the traffic is bad) but it was totally worth it. Unfortunately my little car didn't agree and overheated on the way home the first day so it's out of commission right now until we can save some money for the repairs. Luckily we have a family car which I am now using so it didn't keep me from the 2nd day of the conference.

There was something deeply satisfying about attending the conference and indulging in something I love. I haven't had a truly *me* moment in awhile and it was long overdue. The whole experience reminded me of how much I love research. Sometimes we need to be reminded of the things that bring us joy, things that can easily be forgotten in the hustle and bustle of the day to day. I'm going to find ways to build research time into my life from now on.

April has been a fun month, fairly low key which is good because May is going to be totally different since we'll be winding down the school year along with C's graduation from 5th grade which seems to be a way bigger deal than when I graduated 5th grade. There will be parties and open houses and a ceremony. We'll be shopping for a new outfit and Chris will even be taking her to get her hair done before the graduation. 

And then school will be out and summer vacation will begin which means having the kids home with me all day while I'm also trying to work...but that's still a month in the future.