CruiseNetwork.com to Commemorate Mother's Day by Giving Away Free 5-night Caribbean Cruises!
May 03, 2005
Mom—what comes to mind when you hear that word? For most of us, it probably brings back a flood of childhood memories. From afternoon soccer games, late night study sessions, bedtime stories, and loads of dirty laundry, to always knowing just what to say to bring you up when you are feeling down—there's no one else in the world that knows you quite like your mother.
Through thick and thin, the good times and the bad, she has always been there for you. This Mother's Day, CruiseNetwork.com, a leading provider of incredible cruise vacations aboard some of the most magnificent cruise ships at sea today, is giving you the opportunity to say thank you in a very big way.
On May 1st, Cruise Network began accepting nominations for the nation's most extraordinary mothers. Nominations will be accepted now through May 16, 2005. Ten finalists will then be selected and rewarded with a 5-night Caribbean cruise for themselves and a guest aboard Carnival Cruise Line's Imagination, compliments of CruiseNetwork.com. All Mother's Day gifts are certainly meaningful in their own way, but this one has a very special story behind it.
Founder, President, and CEO of Cruise Network, Jai George, fondly remembers a woman that made an immense and everlasting impact on his life—his grandmother, Theresa.
"When my father was only eight years old, my grandfather became very ill. Suddenly, my grandmother, who had never worked a real job in her life, was solely responsible for providing for her entire family. After my grandfather passed away, she had just 50 cents to her name. She worked long days at two tireless factory jobs. It was hard work, and it didn't pay much, but she never complained, and did what she had to do to provide for her son...my father, Mr. Lonen George. We later found out that she would even sometimes go days without eating herself, just so she could save that extra money for my father's future education..."
Well Mr. George did go to college, and after he began work at his first job upon completing engineering school, one that forced him to move more than 1000 miles away from home, he started sending what little money he could back to his mother. Eventually, she was able to quit both of her factory jobs. Now Theresa could have spent the extra money she now had on herself, but instead, she decided that she had a lot more love to give, and a short time later, she adopted two orphan children that had been abandoned by their own mothers.
Mr. George is actually the youngest of 10 children that Theresa had been blessed with during her life. Sadly, all nine of his older brothers and sisters passed away at a very young age—the tragic result of a devastating plague that swept across Europe during the earlier parts of the 20th Century. Thankfully, Mr. George survived, and was able to grow into a very healthy and intelligent young man. Theresa loved her son more than life itself, and though they didn't have much, she worked hard and did whatever she had to do to give him the kind of life she knew he deserved.
After Mr. George married, he and his wife were blessed with three beautiful and healthy sons. Due to the location of where he had to work at the time, his sons also spent a number of their younger years living with Theresa and her two adopted children. Jai George vividly remembers one particular instance: "I was probably about eight years old," he recalls. "I remember going up to my grandmother, and asking her why it seemed as though she loved her adopted children more than she loved me and my brothers. She simply smiled and said.'Jai, I am your grandmother, and you deserve all the love that I have inside to give you, and more. You must always know that your father and your mother and I all love you very, very much. These children have one else in the world to love them—but my loving them will never mean that I love you any less."
Jai continues,"Even after my father had the money to give my grandmother anything she wanted, she never asked for anything. She knew she had already been given the greatest gift a mother could ever receive, seeing her son living the life she had always dreamed he would have. Sadly, my grandmother passed away a number of years ago. Though she is missed beyond words, her memory still lives on, as each and every day me and my family live out the life that she so selflessly created for us."
Mr. George lovingly remembers his mother today as a remarkable woman who truly had nothing—yet gave everything. "My mother died a very happen woman," Mr. George tenderly remarked. "She had a hard life—literally starting with nothing at all—yet eventually got to see all of her dreams come true. She was very thankful to god for blessing her with such a wonderful and fulfilling life, and she didn't regret a minute of it."
Theresa worked hard her entire life. She spent so much time making sure those around her felt happy and loved, that she rarely did anything nice for herself, and certainly never asked for anything in return. She never even had the chance to take a vacation...of any kind, something she most undoubtedly deserved.
This year, in her loving and lasting memory, Cruise Network is giving ten deserving mothers just like Theresa the opportunity to do what she never had the chance to. Theresa's undying love and will to sacrifice her own life and well-being to ensure that her son was happy, healthy, and living the kind of life he deserved to live will never be forgotten.
Cruise Network will be accepting nominations for this very special giveaway now through May 16, 2005.
