Ever notice that when you are waiting for something time seems to slow down to an excruciating minute by minute experience? I think this is some kind of quantum time warp that happens when vacations loom in the near future. You would think that with the craziness that is our lives this week time would simply be flying, but such is not the case. We’re moving at warp speed, but time seems like it is standing still. There must be some strange law of physics at work here.
We are packing a whole lot of living into one little week around here. We’ve got one kid leaving for Turkey and Europe tomorrow, another kid moving home this weekend in advance of her own adventure to Scotland and beyond. There are rooms to get ready, bags to pack, tickets to double check, sheets to wash, travel snacks to pack, and what’s left of an apartment full of stuff to move home with said oldest child. And the dog looks like he feels puny. I can’t tell if he’s just responding to the stress or whether there is something wrong.
Mike and Andrew in the process of what has become alarmingly commonplace at our house: moving people and furnishings around.
Our oldest is doing it right. She is taking the plunge and casting her net into the wide world, expecting it to work out. She has started by selling almost everything in her apartment. She made about 1000$ toward her travel plans. A pretty good haul if you ask me. Only a few pieces of furniture are coming home, and it’s because of me, not because of her. She’s a brave one. I’m trying to envision doing that same kind of thing with a 3000 square foot house and I’m coming up short in the vision department. I guess it’s just going to take us longer.
She got to enjoy living in this lovely building in Seattle for exactly one year. Now on to other things.
So her move is the background music of our lives all the time right now, and Andrew’s trip to Turkey and Europe is coming up starting tomorrow. We’ve been scurrying around helping him with last minute things, and just being with him until he leaves. By the time a kid gets to be this age, he can pretty much do his own packing and all that, but, you know. Moms.
Meanwhile my practice is busier than ever. I’m completely booked until the day before we cast off. Go figure. But it did feel good to change my voice mail message, which I did a few days ago already, announcing that new client appointments had to be scheduled the first week of August. That should slow down the tidal wave so I can keep my head above water.
Last weekend we retrieved Moonrise from her place in Olympia and brought her home. She’s still ours and we’re just going to take her up to Canada and enjoy the heck out of her. Mike is working on getting the autopilot installed and it’s working really well so far. He works his day, then goes to the boat and puts in hours there. Guess which hours he enjoys more? He’s taken loads of photos and will be posting his finished product coming up. This is good practice for the next boat, whenever that is. We were able to get most of our things back on the boat and get them stowed this weekend, so all that’s left is the stocking of food and clothing and entertainment items. Eight more days and counting. Even time warps must come to an end.
South sound anchorage off Anderson Island. No wind, but pretty day.
Exciting times are afoot! So excited for Andrew and Claire and YOU! I have too much to do this week as well getting Maura off to her adventures and I completely get the time warp thing. I can not wait for photos of your trip. 🙂
Maura is starting her exciting adventures early. Having exciting kids is so cool, but it’s a little bit like being the tail on the end of a kite. Andrew is leaving for Turkey this morning. They will go to Spain for several weeks, and then end up in Zurich to fly home. Glad he has done this before so I don’t have to worry too much.
YAY! Lots of activity at your place, I’m envious. Our days are spent watching the clock tick slowly down and thinking of things not to do so we can save money, lol. I hope you have a GREAT time on vacation!!
Oh geez! That slow-ticking clock thing! A watched clock never moves. You guys are making so much progress on Sundowner, I’m surprised you have the energy for anything else anyhow. We’re going to look at a complete fixer of a boat when we’re in Port Townsend, if it works out. The hull is a beauty, but everything else has to go. Still, for the right price… at least we will look, which costs nothing. I’m looking forward to having plenty to blog about and plan to keep good notes since there won’t be internet access most of the places we’re going. Off the grid! Yea!
A squall of transitions… & all so exciting. Do you find that your kids’ big adventures become a day-by-day movie reel to watch & enjoy? Following their funny texts & tweets, exploring their pics on fb and ig, skyping while they explore far-flung places? I love the way technology & social media shrinks the map, which gives us peace of mind when our kids are 3000 miles away, and lets us “tag along” in a visual way. Good luck in these passages, and have a blast on Moonrise. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on the fixer boat. 🙂 Happy sailing.
Belinda, you said it! I reminded Andrew as he left this morning that he is supposed to keep us updated on Facebook, since we can’t go on this trip with him. He’s enough like us that he likes to be off the beaten path, but there is usually an internet cafe even in the far flung reaches. It definitely does give us peace of mind. This time we’ll be letting his sister do most of the keeping in touch, since we’ll be the ones out of reach of internet service for most of our trip. Yes, we will have a blast for sure!