One weekend, months before my daughter and I went on our Alaskan cruise, Tammie insisted we sit down and schedule our onshore activities. She urgently informed me, “We can’t put this off! Some of the activities have limited enrollment. I’ve checked and found some shore excursions with only a few openings left!”

Frowning, I exclaimed, “But the cruise is months away yet!”

Nodding, Tammie pointed out, “Some people plan their trips a year or more ahead,”

Ruefully, I admitted, “Your daddy’s habit of making last minute plans must have rubbed off on me! I thought we had plenty of time yet.” For the following hour my daughter and I went over all the shore excursions offered at each port and discussed the pros and cons of each one. One of the more unusual options described was in Sitka where each person could make a metal wall decoration under the supervision of a metal shop teacher.

Without hesitation, Tammie announced, “I want to do this! The decoration we could make would be a great souvenir! Also, going to a metal workshop makes me think of how I used to visit Daddy in his workshop.”

I approved, “Arnie would have loved visiting Alaska. Taking this workshop is a nice way for us to remember him in a special way.”

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