Porthole Pictures

Although summer is all to short for my liking, a few years back we decided to leave the heat behind for a while. My mother never got to fulfill one of her lifelong dreams, a cruise to Alaska. She died a short time after retirement and never got the chance to go. Many years later, my oldest daughter and I decided to make the trek in her memory.

Since it was our first cruise, we chose a line with good reviews and great recommendations from family and friends. As budget-minded travelers, we selected a room on a lower deck for a better price point. We opted for one small luxury, a porthole window.

Some of my best memories of water, rocks, forests and icebergs were viewed through portholes on the ship. The high cliffs, vast ocean, and other soaring scenery were sometimes too big to take in all at once. Having those frames provided the opportunity to view smaller portraits of a vast, beautiful space. I thought of mom often during that journey. She would have loved it.

Not too long after that trip, I took a self-funded leave of seven months. I needed to see and take in more of the world. I accumulated memories of places and times. I spent precious moments with family near and far. I lived dreams.

Today, the large looming world is too big to take in all at once. Hopeful images finally begin to emerge in small frames. News comes that vaccines may be available early in the new year. An educational institution gives students an extra week of a break so they can focus on their well-being. There is hope that lessons learned will positively change the future.

I had planned to share a return trip to Alaska last summer but of course, it was cancelled. I am happy for the porthole pictures that I captured earlier. Those images help to sustain me in a time of isolation when the world still looms large and my room, only slightly larger than a modest stateroom on a ship, is a small sanctuary.

Live and love as much as you can, when you can, and capture some memories along the way. I plan to paint some of my porthole photos in acrylics. I want to live that dream again.