The Boulder

When your heart is open and you try and live life with inner intent and soul searching serenity…you come upon many chances to discover something new about yourself. 

I have always seen this journey as a path, a path where I am moving forward.  I imagine a quiet dirt path, meandering its way through a tall wooded grove with sunlight streaming through the leaves searching for contact with the underbrush.

In a recently hard episode in my life - I felt that my journey became a shambles and I wasn't strong enough to stay on the path.   This recent incident derailed my journey for a couple of days, but with the insight of my close friend and confidant Erica - she reminded me of some very important thoughts. 

She so kindly said "I have not fallen off track but rather my journey is still happening and the episode is part of the journey."  Visualize the episode as a boulder that has been placed on the track and it has halted your forward progress.   It is true, my lack of forward motion made me feel stifled and congested in my thoughts.

"Use the boulder as an opportunity to learn something about yourself."

Her words resonated.  When I realized I hadn't fallen off track, and the many years of aspiring to be true to my core self weren't as fragile as I imagined…..I was enlightened and heartened.  I no longer felt off track, frazzled or like a failure.  Instead the boulder was a gift, an opportunity to look within, to halt, to reevaluate the path.   If we could all look at what is halting our journey with a soft heart, we would have some wonderful lessons to learn.  

She mentioned there is no way to go through the boulder or ignore it.  If I wanted to keep moving forward on my path I needed to address it, meditate on it. Accept it as a chance to grow.

Basically, in order to begin forward motion again the boulder needed to be moved and to move it I needed to shower it with my deeper understanding and love.   To find this I would have to meditate on the boulder, but first get to know it's size, weight, structure.  Then during the meditation - focus on what the boulder is, why it is there and how it could be moved with love through a singular focus.  To move it without an offensive measure but with tenderness.

This meditation had amazing results and gave me calm, strength, and highlighted my true essence, which ultimately lead me to the idea of how to move this boulder.  My resultant answer on how to move this particular boulder was genuine and came to me with insight, love, tenderness and giving.  I also meditated and envisioned how it would be received by the other person and hoped it would be felt the way in which it was meant to be.

I learned a lot about myself during this recent episode.   For one, I was reminded that all boulders give us a chance to stop and reevaluate our path, and if soft hearted we have the chance to learn some wonderful lessons.

Feeling eternally grateful for the episode, the guidance and the chance to address that boulder with love and focus.  I am a better, stronger person for it.

A Shift...

This past Wednesday my friends mother passed away.  She was 96.  She lived many years raising a family of 6 kids and spent the last few years with Alzheimer's.  I found out about it via facebook while at an event I was working near Boston.  During the ride home late that night and into the days following many thoughts drifted in and out of my mind.  Similar to when you find out friends are getting a divorce....it makes you question your paradigm.  Your framework.  Your life.

Most of my thoughts and realizations about her loss made me think about my parents and that time when they too shall pass.  It made me reflective.  Made me look at all the amazing things they have done for and with their children and how I would handle that day.   THAT day when they are no longer a phone call away, a mere drive away, a mere flight away.

The word that kept coming into my consciousness was SHIFT. 

A shift of Thought.

A shift of Family.

A shift of Caring.

A shift of Giving.

A shift of Loving.

Made this for my friend Sue.

A Cairn marking the milestone of her mothers life,

the Alzheimer Flower Pin she gave me in support of her mother

and the 2 shells representing her life and her daughter Kate's.

So the loss is for those who remain on earth....or should I say the Shift is for those of us who remain. It is us who carry on the legacy, to write about it, to share it, to embody the things we learned from those who touch our lives.  Shifting our energies from the thoughts of loss to the thoughts of how we intend to live our days here on earth.  To embrace the beauty that is all around us (if we look), to touch the lives of those who enter our sphere (if we are open), to go within and shift our wants and desires to reflect the soul we have within.  

May we always be this way - even outside of death.  We have a short time to be effective human being here on earth...soften your heart, open your soul and touch upon the spirit we all have within.  

We're going for REAL....

Where do I begin.  Where do I begin....

The trip is happening.  REALLY Happening.

But do believe in the greater spirit of the universe providing such an amazing path leading to this point.

An amazing family found us on Zillow and wants to rent our beautiful home out for the year he attends the naval war college.  Sitting with her for 4 hours on Saturday and simply conecting and chatting about life and family solidified the amazing response the universe had for my request of just that.  Connecting with another family one who would love our home as much as us and take care of her while we embark on a once in a lifetime adventure with our children into the Caribbean.

If it was not for our brand new month old neighbor next door, who said Military families look on Zillow for rental listings.   We would not of had this amazing family wanting to rent our home. (Thank you Jen for being amazing!!!)

I promise we will be back after the year celebraating our good fortune to have you as our next door neighbors!!

Winter Boat Prep

Winter Boat Prep was tough this year.  The winter was amazingly beautiful....but with Tons of snow. Here in the North East of the USA we had a cycle of storms that kept dumping inches of snow. Not a problem if your a skier or snow shoe kinda person, but for a family trying to prepare for the trip of a lifetime...it was a hindrance.

But I can say proudly that today April 7th, 2015 around 8am the beautiful s/v Nemetona touched water for the first time since last fall.

This feat took the will power of one determined man withstanding bitter cold temps armed only with a tiny space heater.  With the boat completely emptied out of cushions and luxury items....David amazingly and faithfully went to the boat whenever possible to get through our massive Boat prep check list.

(Mind you this Boat prep checklist was just to get her in the water...we still have about 2 other boat checklists hanging on our wall!)

This winter David did the following

• Remove Water heater (which meant cutting out part of the bed frame to make this possible) 
• Paint bilge area 
• Drill a new through hole, (fill, patch, sand, seal and paint) 

• Back fill a through hole (fill, Patch, sand, seal and paint) 
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• Replace about 3 through holes (sand, seal and paint) 

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• Prep area for fuel filtration system 
• Prep areas for water maker system 
• Reattach hoses 
• Reattach wet exhaust system 
• Sand bottom of the boat 
• First coat of anti foul painted on 

There are so many other things I am unaware of...and hope to get a full list from David at some point.

Then in the last week and a half together we have been (in the somewhat warmer though damper weather)

• Grinding down spots on the bottom of the boat 

    

         

• Wiping bottom clean with 216

• Second coat of anti foul painted on
• Third coat of anti foul around waterline and keel and rudder

       

•  Wash off and dry topsides
• Compound and polish sides

    

Wax Off




• Wax on and Wax off sides 

•  Washed and Waxed the green waterline

• Waxed the spot we could not reach from the scaffolding and some really dirty spots in the cockpit/companion way and transom.  (It was also a test to see if the large buffer could be used in these areas when she is in the water, without spattering polish everywhere.....confirmed.  Yeah)

Again I am sure David has done an enormous amount of work other than what is listed here...but just thought I would document at least some of the hard/complicated work that has been done to the boat since January.  I hope to someday to get a listing of all the upgrades and changes we have done to her.

Still smiling.....

Until then...just know we are getting excited about moving onto the boat in a few months.  The house has found renters, homeschooling has been approved by the town and med kit is ready.

As my friend John says, just keep picking at the mountain.  Each and every moment find something to do that reduces the size of the mountain and in time it will be 'moved'.
In our case it will be 'sailing'.

Bump in the road

So this winter was harsh....not just from the "Can't make progress on the boat prep when it's this cold" or "thank god my parents left me their Snow Blower when they moved to FL" aspect, but evidence from the pictures posted here show that the roads were hit hard too.

SO to add to our already fun and monotonous Car stories since October.....

We have hit another bump in the road.

Literally!

A Pot hole....not that huge, but very deep.  

Hidden by slush on a dark Wed. night heading to Cub Scouts.

BAM, Shudder, pull and a "what in the world was that...were we just in another accident??"

Did all I could to grab my composure when we pull into the parking lot of scouts and see a tow truck there hooking up a small red car.  No doubt they too hit the said pot hole.

So I went on to calm my son and explained we will know after scouts if any major damage if we see a bubble form on the outside of the tire.  

Promptly after the meeting, before getting in the car he checks the tire....no bubble that he could see.  PHEW

Next morning - after more snow....I am shoveling near the passenger tire and what do I see......

The bubble.

The Bubble

Ugh, Exhale, Breathe in. Clear head. Think clearly.

Need to wait for David to return from business trip, drive to Town Fair Tire, Replace.  Ca-ching. Done. Simple.

Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it!