A Journey to Patience

I can't believe it has been 10 months since we left California and headed back east to make our dream of sailing and simplifying our lives a reality. There has surely been a lot of ups and downs and obstacles to overcome as would be the case for any undertaking of a life style change. If the journey was not a struggle at times would the reward of obtaining your end goal be so sweet to the tongue?

At times our voyage seemed doomed -- had we made a mistake of leaving the comforts of our California lifestyle? The beach a rock kick away, being around our friends whom we had grown to love and enjoy our time with; the sun, always present, pleading it's case with ease to draw you out to play in its warm rays..... Our boat seemed to resist us at every turn, our plight to save her seemed tedious and at times impossible as our list of repairs grew longer and longer with every loosening of a screw.

Then, when all hope seemed to have been lost she would give way to our sweat and tears and slowly allow us to cautiously inch one step closer to reuniting her with the ocean. We pushed through the frustrations, we researched our obstacles and we kept stepping forward.

I began to learn patience.

As the lists are now getting shorter and the days till the sweet reward of the launch grow nearer I sit and reflect on our journey thus far and smile.

I am glad we made the decision to leave our comforts and teach ourselves a new skill. I am excited to live with the sea and explore what it has to offer. I look forward to meeting new people along the way and hope to have the fortune of learning from old salts and cruisers of every kind. I am thankful to have a determined and loving man by my side.

I can only hope I can continue to incorporate patience with the challenges that are sure to come and at the end of the day we can sit and smile at our accomplishments and fumbles alike.