In the days before you complete any contract there is always a sudden plethora of things to do. The inventory you started months ago and thought you had plenty of time to finish is suddenly staring at you only three quarters complete, you need to replace your name tag, you have to put the finishing touches on the handover notes that your replacement is probably going to rely on exclusively during her first week or so on board.
And of course you have to pack.
That last one is still a bear, because it’s amazing how much can fit in such a small cabin, and you despair that this time you won’t be able to work the magic necessary to fit it all back into one suitcase and a duffle bag, and you curse yourself for not biting the bullet and picking up that plain grey hard-sided carry on that you saw in the last port but decided was too expensive.
And in the midst of all of this there is still the day-to-day issues, the fire screen door at the end of your hall that won’t stay shut through the night despite multiple polite requests for it to do so, the drills that you still have to go to, the trainings you still have to complete. You still, after all, have a job to do.
Which can be difficult sometimes because all you want is to let your mind run down and get on that plane…which seems both an instant and a life-time away.
But you just keep going, because all of these little things still have to be done, and these people on this particular cruise paid just as much for their vacation as did the guests who boarded months ago when you were still daisy-fresh. Just like a closing night crowd pays the same for their tickets as an opening night one.