The Hardest Thing

Originally posted at www.svsweetescape.com

When we put our house up for sale we said this was the hardest thing we would have to do in order to make our dream of cruising come true.  All the cleaning and prep work can only do so much, we still needed a buyer which of course we didn’t have a lot of control over.  But a buyer did finally show up and we were able to sell the house at a time when no houses were selling.  It was hard but we did it.

Moving has to be in the top 10 awful things we do in  our lives.  Moving from a four bedroom home to a small apartment is a difficult thing to do.  But we did it.

After many months of searching for our boat, making lists of needs and wants and trying to find the right one at the right price was difficult.  Determining what the boat needs vs what you can afford is not an easy thing to do.  But we did it. 

Learning to dock and maneuver this large sailboat (still a work in progress),  learning to maintain and sail her was a difficult thing to do but we are doing it.

After 30 years of working, leaving our careers that we put so much time and effort into and saying good by to people we’ve worked with almost every day of our adult lives was a hard thing to do.  We did that too.

Moving from a two bedroom apartment to a 44 foot boat is not an easy task. In fact its down right hard.  Luckily we had help, but it felt like we moved three different times by the time we reached the end of the process.  (Some free advice; when having to throw things away, do it quickly before the good memories kick in and try to stop you). 

We would load up the SUV, go to the boat,  find a place for all the stuff we brought and then repeat the entire process over and over again. It feels so good to be finished, no more thinking of where we are going to put our stuff or what to buy,   The apartment is even clean - we just need to turn in the keys.

All of these things have been hard but the very hardest thing of all is saying good bye.  We been doing that for some time now, with Brian’s retirement party, trying to see family and friends before we leave.   Judy’s sister Liz and and part of her family stopped by today for a short visit.   After she left, Judy decided no more good byes, instead we will make plans to see people again.  Daughter Erin and Ryan are coming at Christmas.  And we are hoping that Daughter Jenny will be able to visit this fall or winter sometime. 

So no more good byes - just, till we meet again.