My phone rang, and when I answered, it was my oldest grandson on the line. We commiserated about the snow and ice everywhere between his home in Baltimore, Md, and mine in Charlottesville, VA. Then he said, “When the weather is this bad, there is only one thing to do.” I laughed and said jokingly, “Go to Florida?”

He answered, “No. Go to Jamaica.” His parents own a cottage at Round Hill, not too far from Montego Bay. He told me he had the cottage for a week. “ I want you to come with me,” he said.” Just bring money for tips, I will take care of everything else.” What an offer! At first, I refused. It was just too short notice. I told him there was no way I could just drop everything and fly to Jamaica. There were too many things to rearrange and too many people relying on me for things I had set up. I was supposed to give a party for a women’s group I belong to. I had appointments, social engagements, and friends to see. I had 4 puppies left to sell from the litter of 7 born on November 17th. The snow and ice made it difficult to do almost everything. It was tiring slogging through chunks of ice so hard and heavy that people called it “Snowcrete”. It was actually a great time to escape.

My grandson asked me, “How many more years do you think you have where you CAN physically ‘just pick up and go to another country on less than a week’s notice?” He was correct. I said, “Yes!” As it turned out, I just barely managed to pull it off when the time came. I was much weaker than I knew.

Rush, rush! I managed to cover all my obligations. He told me to try to bring just one carry-on, so I would not have to let my bag out of sight. It would be much quicker not to have to wait at baggage claim.

I originally booked a flight from Richmond, but my oldest daughter helped me rebook so I could leave from Charlottesville. The plane left at 7:05 am, which was much easier than leaving from Richmond at about that time. My change in Charlotte would have me arriving on the Island around 1:30. I was thrilled. There would be time to unwind, have a late lunch, unpack my bag and lie down before dinner.

However, on the day, so much rain fell in Montego Bay that all the planes had to be diverted. My plane had to land in Kingston to refuel; we had circled Montego Bay for a while before being sent there. My flight was about 3.5 hours late. My grandson’s plane landed in Grand Cayman, where a line of waiting planes had all been diverted. We eventually made it to the airport in Montego Bay and, from there, took a cab to Round Hill, arriving around 5:30 pm.

The drive from the airport was shocking to me because of the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa, which hit the Island in late October 2025. So much damage was done by the winds over 200 mph that it will be a year or more before much of it can be rebuilt. Many Jamaicans still live in shacks with tarps for roofs. Many of them have NO home left and are living with relatives. The vegetation is growing back, but all the fruit was blown off the trees and hasn’t regrown yet. Palm trees are very resilient, but most had their leaves blown off and are only now sprouting new ones.

When I arrived and checked in at the desk in the lobby, a bellman took my bags in hand and led me to the steps up to the cottage. I looked up at those steps and sighed. There was no railing. Before the fall that broke my shoulder, I was attending classes to improve my balance. I have been very hesitant to go up and down ANY STAIRS because I did not trust myself not to fall.  But I had no choice. Somehow, I got up those steps. They were gentle, but they were LONG .  I knew I would have to do this every day, several times a day! It was demoralizing.

That first day, it was cool in Jamaica. All the Jamaicans were shivering. The evening temperature dipped into the 60s. This was a true cold spell. Having come from single-digit nights in Virginia, it did not seem too cold to us. But I kept my wool cape on for warmth as we went down to the bar for a drink before dinner. Because I clung so tightly to my grandson going down the stairs from the cottage, he suggested eating dinner in the bar area instead of going up to the upper level to eat dinner under the second-floor roof.  So that is what we did. Our dinner was good and it was lovely to be together. But we were both exhausted after our difficult travels.

I sensed that my grandson was somewhat horrified at how feeble I was. And he was not the only one. It shocked me how out of breath I got from small exertion. After I broke my shoulder in a fall on the way to exercise class in late October, I stopped all exercise classes. I became extremely sedentary from the end of October through New Year’s Eve.  In mid-January, we had a snow-and-ice storm on the 23rd or 24th. Walking became terribly dangerous. So I avoided it.

That lack of exercise had crept up on me without my realizing it. I had no time to learn how debilitated I had become. It came as a huge shock that I had allowed this stealthy disintegration of my strength and balance. The steps terrified me at first. If I had not been given a collapsible cane by my reflexology practitioner the day before I left, I would have been nearly helpless. The fear I felt was the worst part. It is debilitating to feel overcome by that emotion. It seemed insurmountable.

Not wanting to make my grandson regret having invited me, I made a huge effort not to complain about the difficulty of climbing or descending those steps. It was such an effort at first. It seemed as if I had made NO improvement after the second day. I honestly believed I might not be able to improve.

But the relaxation was working behind the scenes. Our cottage was perfect. The view from our hilltop garden was magical. The softness of the air and gentle breezes lulled the senses. The weather became warmer every day. The bougainvillea flowered more deeply. The air grew gentler as the wind died down. The blue of the sea accented the green grass, the feathery palm trees, the colorful uniforms of the maids, contrasting with the hibiscus, and many other lush flowers in the yard of each cottage. Overhead, the deep blue sky, decorated with wispy clouds and a bright sun, made us thankful to be away from Virginia or Maryland in February.

The food was gorgeous, and sometimes tasted as delicious as it looked. At other times, it was prettier than it tasted. But overall, it was great food or unusual food, and always plenty of it. It amazed me that I didn’t gain weight on vacation. Perhaps it was all the walking I did, plus all those up-and-down stairs!

My oldest granddaughter joined us on the 4th day. She was a welcome guest, as it freed up my grandson, so he did not have to worry whether I was safe, lonely, or entertained while he enjoyed the trip himself. We laughed and told stories, and took lots of photos. We all went to the spa for various treatments. I had a massage, a reflexology appointment, and a detoxifying mud massage, which had to be showered off. After the mud was sluiced from my body, the woman massaged me with Green Tea oil, which was lovely.

We never stayed up late, drank too much, or ate too much. The general mood was gratitude for being away from the 1-digit cold nights, total relaxation, and a slightly aloof attitude toward the other guests, not bothering to interact much with them. We read books, wrote on our electronic devices, and meditated in our spare time. The kind and generous gesture from my grandson just amazes me. It warms my heart to think how thoughtful he is. That was such a gift! Imagine! I think that grandsons giving such a generous week-long present to a grandmother must be very rare. It makes me even more grateful than usual. I am truly blessed to have a young grandson who actually felt comfortable inviting his GRANDMOTHER to spend a week with him.

Every day, there were tiny incremental improvements in my ability to traverse the stairs.  Aside from the steps to the cottage, there were other stairs with handrails that I used daily.  By the 4th day, I knew I was really improving physically in every way. On the 6th day, I went up and down the stairs without using the cane. I kept it with me, but I never put it down on the ground, but held it horizontally…I was proud of myself. Elated, even!

After arriving home on Thursday night, I took a walk on Saturday and was delighted to find myself much stronger than when I left Virginia. It seemed like a miracle to be able to walk so much farther than before. It did not “wind” me. It energized me and excited me. I felt years younger than when I left for Jamaica.

The lesson I learned from this was to be very careful in the future to NOT LET MYSELF LOSE MY VITALITY in the first place. It showed me that even in my mid-eighties, building strength is possible and desirable. It just takes perseverance and consistency.

May you all have an unexpected vacation and enjoy it as much as I did.

Copyright©. 2026 Bonnie B. Matheson