Swansboro, NC 34º41.151N | 77º07.108W
People often ask if sailing around in this 3D dream is all that we had hoped for, and our answer is a hearty "hell yes"! It's hard to describe the rich experiences of our last year without getting sentimental and maudlin, but if you read this blog much you already know we have lived much of it in a veritable series of postcards, complete with lovely people sipping drinks in shockingly beautiful settings.
But the joys have been tempered by an equal measure of new demands. Being green as Kermit the Frog has tested our fortitude, cleverness and wits (and wit too). In fact, I frequently wondered aloud if there would ever be a day when I did not learn something.
While it's way too early to do a retrospective on our life afloat, I do realize that we can now reef the main without utter chaos and reach for the Cheerios without rifling through the pantry. We can remove the fuel filter without scraping off our knuckles and operate the toilet for weeks on end without it breaking -- usually from user error (I wish I hadn't said that).
We've packed a lot of joy and learning into a year, and looking back at our wide-eyed selves, I know we had no inkling of what thrills and challenges lay just beyond our horizon.
Perhaps today is no different -- only this time I'm not crying.
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| The sun rising over Beaufort, NC. |
"My wracking sobs were bubbling up from a deep bilge full of emotions: relief, sadness, nostalgia, excitement, profound joy and even a little fear laced heavily with exhaustion."I wrote that sentence one year ago today as the wind off Roanoke Island breathed life into our hard-earned dream. We had at long last reached the end of a 10-year plan and set off on our new adventure -- and I sat on the life jackets and cried. (You can read more about that here.)
People often ask if sailing around in this 3D dream is all that we had hoped for, and our answer is a hearty "hell yes"! It's hard to describe the rich experiences of our last year without getting sentimental and maudlin, but if you read this blog much you already know we have lived much of it in a veritable series of postcards, complete with lovely people sipping drinks in shockingly beautiful settings.
But the joys have been tempered by an equal measure of new demands. Being green as Kermit the Frog has tested our fortitude, cleverness and wits (and wit too). In fact, I frequently wondered aloud if there would ever be a day when I did not learn something.
While it's way too early to do a retrospective on our life afloat, I do realize that we can now reef the main without utter chaos and reach for the Cheerios without rifling through the pantry. We can remove the fuel filter without scraping off our knuckles and operate the toilet for weeks on end without it breaking -- usually from user error (I wish I hadn't said that).
We've packed a lot of joy and learning into a year, and looking back at our wide-eyed selves, I know we had no inkling of what thrills and challenges lay just beyond our horizon.
Perhaps today is no different -- only this time I'm not crying.
"You can turn the clock to zero, honey
I'll sell the stock, we'll spend all the money.
We're starting up a brand new day." -- Sting
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