Don’t Kill the Bear

One fun thing on cruises is the towel animals that the cabin attendants leave on our bed in the evening.  On our next to the last night we had a cute bear left for us which was endeared to my son.  Since our room was small and we did not have much space to store these creations, I would usually disassemble them every night and hang the towels in the bathroom.  On this particular night, however, I was met with a plea to not “kill the bear.”

The bear moved from our bed, to our son’s bed, to our daughter’s bed, then back to our son’s bed.  I even got a silly picture of my son cradleing this towel animal in his arms, protecting him from destruction.  The room was small, so we had to find a safe crevice to place this new friend while we slept.  He ended up on the floor, safely nestled next to the trash can.

One of our goals for this trip to Alaska was to see wildlife, including bears.  We did see a few far off in the distance during our bus ride in Denali National Park, yet my husband was hoping to snap pictures from a closer distance.  We traveled a bit too early in the season, before the salmon come back to streams and rivers to spawn.  Thus the bears are hidden deep in the woods, collecting berries and other such food, rather than out in the open streams and rivers.  Spotting them was difficult.  In fact one of the “bear-watching” excursions organized from our cruise line came up totally empty seeing no bears at all.  Yet at this moment, we had a bear up close, one we could hold, cradle in our arms, and protect.  

I spoke to a family today who went on one if the doomed bear-seeing expeditions, where they spent several hundred dollars in the hope to see bears yet saw none.  They said they passed the time making bear puns:  the land was not bear-ing fruit; the ride was unbearable; the land was bear-en (barren).  These puns made them laugh off their frustration.  Here we were at the end of our cruise, still lamenting that we did not see a bear up close, yet now have one sharing our bedroom!

Things do not always go as expected.  Sometimes silliness can make a positive difference.  Often the alternative is disappointment, frustration, or anger, which is not good for anyone and does not lead to a joyful or restorative vacation.  Sometimes the simple joys can mean the most.  May we continue to find happiness in such things.