Best Life

 We are only days away from leaving.  Driving more than 1400 miles to our new home.  Changing land for sea.  So excited!  But first we have goodbyes.  Paul and I spent the afternoon with mom.  Lunch, scrabble and a cold, brisk walk in the Narragansett wind.  A beautiful way to say goodbye.  Thank you mom!  A bon voyage dinner planned with the kids Sunday at our favorite Bandidos.  And then we pack and head to new adventures and new friends. We are on a fast learning curve as we research and hire people to help us prepare Quiet Time.  Our Captain, Dave, has us excited to learn our boat and become familiar with her.  She is getting a new dinghy motor, having her fridge and freezers serviced, her bottom painted and a few other odds and ends.  And a new name!   Quiet time is a special time.  It is the afternoon period during vacations when we napped while the little ones quietly watched a movie.  A re-...

The holidays and the chaos that comes with them are over.  We enjoyed being with family even though it was spread out and mish mash due to illness.  We visited with Santa at Southwick Zoo with the girls (I got what I wished for - a boat!).  I got to be Brianna's partner in Charades and will always guess Checkers first!  Card games where I have no idea who won but the chairs around the table were full.  I watched Christmas movies I hadn't seen in years.  Thank you Tim Allen for doing so many that are family friendly.  I love that our family has grown and I love all the new additions! Quiet Time here we come!  The final papers were mailed this afternoon.  We have a new home!  Thank you Megan for putting up with us while we completed the process of finding and buying her.  I am excited to no longer be living out of boxes.  I am excited to have my morning coffee watching the sun rise over the ocean.  

 Christmas comes with so many expectations.  Being with family.  Enjoying food prepared especially for celebrating.  Appreciating the lights and displays that spread smiles.  Watching friends and family embrace the gifts carefully selected.  Multiple lists for menus, groceries, presents, activities.  Dates carefully selected to include everyone.  And then life happens. Illness occurs and plans have to be adjusted.  Scrambling to find new a new time that works for everyone.  Tickets are sold out and new activities need to be formulated.  Gifts that are no longer in stock.  Hoping second choices are okay.  And this is when expectations need to be readjusted.  Easier said then done.  Instead of dinner and gifts with extended family we will have dinner and games with immediate family.  Instead of an afternoon excursion tomorrow we will find a substitute activity.  I am not doing what I thought I would be do...

 The deal is almost done.  We should be signing the final paperwork within the week. Time is no longer standing still as we prepare for the holidays, continue to sort through our belongings and begin our provisioning list.   There is a bittersweetness to our holidays.  I am so excited to begin our new chapter on the water yet being with family and celebrating is my happy place.  I have always felt so much gratitude and love watching the kids enjoy each other and our traditions and gatherings.   This is the first year I will not be skiing or snowmobiling with them.  I may not miss the cold but I will miss the smiles and laughs that come with large family vacations squished in small spaces.  I will miss the dinners and card games.  I will miss watching my 5 year old granddaughter fall asleep on the snowmobile, ski down the mountain like a pro, come running for hugs and calling me "banana Kris".  But I am looking forward to the su...

 As we near our goal I would have thought I had learned patience.  After taking 3 years to prepare for our lifestyle change I find time is moving slower.  We gave away things, donated things, sold things.  We are living with our daughter packed and ready to leave.  Tomorrow we finally get to haul out and survey our new home!   This journey started because of COVID.  We needed a break from the stress of our jobs and decided to sail.  Neither of us had ever sailed but with only us and a captain it was acceptable.  We LOVED it!  The water, the sun, the wind.   I felt like I could breathe again.  I could see and hear beauty again.  How could we do this full time? We made a 3 year plan.  After joining a blue water cruising online class we realized just how much we wanted to make this work.  We told the kids and family.  I started small by emptying closets and drawers.  I stopped buying "things" and...