We did it. We went home to Seattle for the summer, got jobs to try and refill the cruising kitty, and actually left to return to Small World again. This was the plan when we started cruising in 2016, and it’s the first time it has happened. Eight years in the making. Thankfully there was some good cruising and some good land life, and it wasn’t all a thankless grind.

Everything in boat life is tenuous and a tentative plan, at best. We had several years when we thought we’d be leaving Seattle and circumstances determined that wouldn’t be the case for us, despite our best efforts and intentions. It’s really challenging to account for global pandemics and the death of a parent. It’s even harder to predict how you’ll react to stuff like that, or any other reality of life that wants to throw a spanner in the works.

And that’s really just life in general isn’t it? Not really special to cruising life. We may have added a few complications to the mix with boat AND land life in different cities and countries, but why not? Why shouldn’t we? I might have more grey in my hair and more furrow line wrinkles, but so far they seem worth it.

When the stress and frustrations of the transitions between these worlds gets to me, I try to remember that this is the life we’ve chosen (at least for now) and that there are so many benefits to balance the scales. How lucky are we that we’ve been able to make all of this work? Spoiler alert: very lucky.

So lucky in fact, that as I write this, my back is still aching from the three day drive in the van loaded with 1500+ pounds of stuff that will lead to so many projects on the boat in the heat of the Sonoran Desert. But I’m also sitting next to some chosen family while he works on his homework. Our Tucson family has been an incredible support system for us as we go between the boat and Seattle and also while we were working on the big refit a couple seasons ago. We have sent literal mountains of packages to their house, crashed their holiday celebrations, and shown up with little to no notice. We wouldn’t have been spending this much time with them if it weren’t for our attempts to keep boat and land incorporated into our lives. So was the packing, loading, driving, stressing worth it? Of course.

That doesn’t mean I don’t get to bitch about it. Because lemme tell ya, it wasn’t fun. Craig and I agreed that it wasn’t as stressful as the first time we packed up the house to prepare for renters, but it was still a lot of work to accomplish in a short window. Each of us worked until the last minute because we are still not independently wealthy somehow, and it’s hard to pack up a house when you’re still trying to live in it. And it’s also really challenging to tackle the To Do list when you’re paralyzed by The Overwhelm. There are so many times when I look around and can rattle off a list of tasks that need to be accomplished, but then I sit there and stare at it all rather than doing anything beneficial. According to TikTok, this is not abnormal. So, I found myself comforted but also infuriated when the end of the day came, and I still saw the same list of tasks that would paralyze me in the morning. I did, however, send several good memes to Craig. Like I said, it’s a balance.

I promise that I did in fact help with the packing up process. Marna can vouch for me. She saw me being productive even though she was busy trying to distract us so we would delay and/or cancel the trip. And now I’m trying to keep some momentum as we head to the yard. But I can already feel the The Overwhelm trying to sink me into a stupor of unproductivity. It’s like a weighted blanket and a warm car nap all at once. If you have any tips or tricks to convince yourself to hurry up and get to work, send them my way. We are already on the calendar for splashing and will need to bust a move to make it happen.