My partner and I took her parents on an Alaska cruise this summer. That may sound like "so what?" but some background: my partner is an only child from a strict Southern Christian background. Her parents are both older and pretty set in their ways. They almost disowned her when she moved across the country to be with another woman. Over the past 11 years they've slowly come around to being able to talk to her (without me being mentioned), to being able to hear my name, to being able to be with me for short periods.

This summer we decided to give them a trip that they've never do on their own. They're not very adventurous and don't have much money. It took some talking them into it, but we did it. They were thrilled. Her mom is still talking about it months later. She's still describing it as her trip of a lifetime. I'm so happy that it worked out so well.