Thanks & Giving
Very grateful for these two!
I know I said I’d be giving a little preview of what’s to come, in terms of sailing, next. However, first, I want to share some gratitude with you all.
The name of our boat says it all: MerSea (Merci). We are thankful for so much this year! I try to be thankful about something every day. -Even in times where there’s a gale & the bilge pump isn’t working. -Okay, maybe I wasn’t exactly thinking of what’s good in my life at the time but I was glad to be alive the next day! 😂 Dreams are definitely coming true for us. Not that we haven’t put any work towards them but the Universe has met us half way. We’re thankful that we have the energy & time to get there.
Just some of the things in our lives we’re thankful for:
We’re thankful for our family & friends.
We’re thankful for all of our wonderful dockmates!
We’re thankful for getting our slip.
We’re thankful for our month long voyage & how much we learned during it.
We’re thankful for all of you who have been reading our blog.
And for so much more!
And because we’re so thankful for everything in our lives we like to give what we can to help others reach toward better lives.
We do donate here & there throughout the year but we put aside more money for the end of the year to people/organizations that are in need.
Here are just a few that organizations we are donating to this year:
Santa Cruz Gives - actually this is an organization that helps non-profits with getting more donations. You can click on the link to see which ones they are supporting this year.
NAMI - National Alliance on Mental Illness.
We donate to the local chapter but they have facilities all over the country. Mental health is so vital. I believe that if we all had great mental health, the world would be a much better place.
Girl’s Inc.
We’ve been giving to them for over a year now. It’s so amazing to see the accomplishments that all the girls who are a part of this have made! A lot of the girls go into the program as a young child & are now involved from the other side after graduating college.
Ukraine
Not sure which organization we’ll donate money through, but they need help now more than ever. I can’t even imagine living in a war torn area or having to escape from one.
That’s just a small slice of the way we try to give back to this world after being given so much.
Remember that giving doesn’t have to involve money. Giving a smile to someone on the street that may look sad can do a lot more than you think. Hugs can go a long way. And if you have the time to volunteer somewhere that will always be appreciated. Maybe just focus on one cause. It’s hard to sometimes not to be overwhelmed by all of the organizations & people that need help out there. Your help is a loving gesture in any capacity & social media can make you think you aren’t doing enough. Don’t let this thought get into your brain. Pick something that matters to you or is meaningful to you & you will make a difference.
So what, you may ask, is in store for us now? As far as sailing goes, we would love to sail down to Mexico from the end of September to the end of March!
Hopefully where we’ll be a year from now.
OMG! You say. I have so many questions about the logistics of that!
Well, we are currently trying to figure everything out to make this possible.
First & foremost, we need Matt’s boss to give his blessing for us to go. He’s a generous & giving guy so hopefully he’ll be supportive. Matt can definitely manage properties from afar but he would also need to have a good team here to do all of the physical maintenance stuff that he himself so great at doing. Matt does have at least one person he knows he can count on but needs a few more.
I did just hire someone! -who will hopefully work out & that we can share to help us with both our jobs while we are here & while we’re away. So, praying that his boss will be excited for us & support us on living our lives to the fullest.
Next, we actually need to set up a team of a few people who we can depend on to hold down the fort for those 6 months. Like I said, I did just hire someone, so hoping he can step up to the plate. We shall see.
We need to fix up our house to rent it out. There’s lots to do & I’ll just leave it at that.
Those are the big things for now. Everything else we know we can handle & get done. -Although we’ll be running around for the next 10 months to do so.
And so our sailing life is at the mercy of a few forces outside of our control. However, I will remain optimistic until told something that sends my dreams crashing down & me going into a tantrum that includes bawling my eyes out & pounding my fists on the ground. 🤣
Afterwards I will stand up & brush myself off & be thankful for what we do have & think of Plan A adjacencies.
We may have to just find a deserted island & build a hut on the beach.
In other news, it’s our little boy’s 9th birthday on Saturday! I can’t believe it. -Partly because we adopted him when he was 2.5 years old & the SPCA just guessed that he was that age & that his birthday was November 26th, 2013. -Because, why not? Also, because his energy has not slowed in the least bit.
Anyway, we love him so much & will be giving him something like salmon or sardines that he will eat too fast to appreciate but we’ll have at least tried to do something special for him on his birthday.
Zephyr’s 1st birthday with us! -6 years ago when he turned 3!
We three wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving! In addition to being thankful, remember to have fun & not perfection.
Thanks for reading! See you next week!
