The Storm Inside
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OMG! No, I never stress out or worry or go into a catatonic, overwhelmed pose. I am laid back, fun & carefree! "Ha!" -says the universe! You have to get everything ready for the Channel Islands trip next month! What does that even mean?! I don't know! Will we be ready? Am I thinking of all the things we have to get done? Am I capable of getting everything done? How do I put together a GoPro video? Will it be interesting? Do I need another camera? When am I going to clean our house? Am I taking enough photos? When am I going to rent out our vacation rental for while we're gone? Do my friends think I'm neglecting them? Have I been in touch with them enough through social media? Am I paying enough attention to Zephyr? How are we going to pay for everything? Why is our medical care such a pain? Why can't everyone get paid what they deserve? Why is there so much sadness & violence in the world?!........
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Just a few thoughts running through my head lately. I'm sure most of you can relate. However, I think a lot of times, I come across like I have everything in control. -To those that don't know me. Those who know me really well, like Matt, see the craziness on a weekly basis. I don't know how parents do it! I can't even imagine throwing kids into this mix. But people do it. -Without falling apart. And so many people are stressing about more stressful things. Like - how am I going to feed my family today. -That's kind of a big one!
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Bob Marley put this very aptly -
Every man thinketh his
Burden is the heaviest (heaviest)
Every man thinketh his
Burden is the heaviest (heaviest)
Ya still mean it
Who feels it knows it, LordRunning Away - by Bob Marley
I don't think my burden is the heaviest. But I have to remember that whoever feels stress, sorrow, pain, etc... feels it to their own capacity. Sometimes it's so intense that the only way one can figure out how to get through it is to numb themselves. So let's all give ourselves a break & know that we don't have to judge our problems by comparing them to others. -Worse or better, you feel it & that's what you need to deal with.
Now that I've gotten that out of the way, I can chat about a few things that went on in the last week.
My parents came up. Matt & I reserved an end tie in the south harbor so that we wouldn't have to worry about tides & could go sailing at decent hours. I definitely could have just stayed at that dock. It was so nice not having to tabernacle or worry about when we could get under the bridge. Plus, we didn't have to drive over the bridge to get to our dock. -Which saves a ton of time; especially in rush hour. In fact, I can only think of 2 downsides of this dock: we don't have all the neighbors we love & it is an end tie, so we could easily get hit by passing boats. Although, we could always kayak up harbor & visit our old dock mates. So actually there's only the one downside. And if we put up enough fenders, would we really have to worry about getting hit on the side? Alas, getting a slip in the south harbor takes about 30 years. Hmm.... is 80 the new 50? Then it might not be so bad for us.
So long North Harbor! -At least for a few days.
The happiness of the south harbor!
Getting ready to go out!
The sailing was great that day! We saw a ton of dolphins in a huge pod catching something to eat. The clouds gave way to sun & it was beautiful out on the water.
After getting back to the dock, Matt had to hustle & get to work. So my parents, Zephyr & I took a walk out to the lighthouse. It was built the same year that Matt & I met! I actually remember it being built.
The next day my parents & I went out. Matt had work so we went sailing without him. It was kind of strange to venture out into the bay sans my co-captain. Although, I did get to do the tasks that he normally takes up when the two of us are together. I pulled up the main. -Which for some reason didn't go all the way up. My dad suggested we just reef the sail in that case. It was the first time I reefed on our boat. (We just got the reefing lines a few weeks ago.) The wind was pretty strong. -Possibly close to 20 knots. The waves then started coming up. It was a sunny day but conditions started to get more severe. So we decided to call it a day & came back in. Bummed that we only got a little more than an hour out on the water. Yet, it's better than nothing. Plus, I got to get out of my usual role.
When we got back to the dock, we had a friend waiting for us. Not the friendliest guy. There was almost a confrontation between him & Zephyr. Thankfully the sea lion couldn't hop on our boat & that I could hold Zephyr back from a fight that he probably wouldn't win.
After another afternoon walk, Matt came back & we barbecued some chicken. And Zephyr practiced his, "Aren't I so adorable that you want to give me food?", look on my mom. He has no shame when on the boat.
Sadly, the next morning we had to get MerSea back to her slip in the north harbor. It's funny because I felt like we were on a mini holiday being on the other dock. I actually don't mind our dock so much. It's mostly about the tabernacling. Is a mast really supposed to be put in a horizontal position that often?
It was a short visit for my parents. -Just 4 nights. I'm lucky they're in a day's driving distance. The last night we went out to eat & hung out at home instead of on the boat.
A lovely evening to end their visit on.
Hopefully we'll see them again soon when we are in the Channel Islands. Love you, Mom & Dad!
Next comes our spinnaker class this week & next week. I admit, I'm nervous. I don't want to hit any other boats. -I'm sure our instructor doesn't want that either. And I want to do well. So that will be something I'll report back on next week. Maybe I'll just think of all the other things I need to do & then during class I'll feel like it's a break from all of the other stuff? #upsidedowntherapy.
Thanks so much for reading along. If you liked this blog, please click on the like & follow buttons below. Adios until next Wednesday.
