Sad to say goodbyes

Packed our stuff.  Cleaned our house.  Renters are showing up in an hour.  I keep thinking about how much I like our house, our neighbors, our friends, our kids friends.  Is it crazy to pick up and disrupt all this?  Would a 3 month trip over the summer been enough?  

I hope everything is exactly the same when we get home.  I hope the kids do OK.  I hope I can stand sleeping all year long in that crampy aft berth, get up without my coffee ready-made (set up on an automatic timer here at home), and be agle to stand the clutter of the boat (no matter how organized it is, it is not like it is ever going to be tight and tidy like home can be. Do I like being on the boat THAT much to live on it for a year?  

Wouldnt the money spent on this trip be better spent on moving on into a bigger house?  Will our life return to 'normal' after we return?  Will Code and I drive eachother absolutely bonkers?  I need my space!   

Packing the kids things away makes me so sad.  Will they like the same toys when they get back?  Will the packed away clothes even fit when we get back (packed a size up, but not enough time to sort out all).  It is a sad reminder of how very fast they are growing up.  I cant bear to part with Graeme's cowboy outfit and boots...or any of the dress up stuff, but I doubt that they will fit (or that he will have any interest) when we return.  Those 'few extra months' of play they would have seen are ending all to early.  I am not ready for my youngest boy to grow up.  By packing them away, I am packing away their childhood.  I wont see him dressed up as a special king again, or an 'Indian'.  Well, I am going to bring his 'ninja' outfit.  The other outfits, I will hang onto here at home.  Just in case he decides to be a cowboy one more time.

Comments

[Mya]

I can relate. Duncan is 21 and I still have a box of his dress up things. His speech was delayed and having the opportunity to "direct" his friends as well as perform in his own plays was a huge part of his speech development. I also linger in a house that is family sized ( expensive to heat) because I can't face packing up and giving away things that have so many memories. And I always say - one more year in the garden. The yellow rose a neighbour gave me is a frothy cascade this year with a unique delicate spice scent. It has come into it's own. Like watching a daughter go from braces to beauty.
This trip will be such an adventure- a whole new family story and familes are about their shared stories n'cest pas? You are such a gifted "diarist". Thank you for sharing the joys and angsts.

[nojo]

BON VOYAGE!!!! I tried to catch you this morning and missed you. Have a wonderful journey ... looking forward to the many tales you will have to tell!!
Godspeed,
love
nojo and clan

[Amy Dixon]

Oh, Janet. You're already missed my sweet. Had class last night and did handstands and no one was there to spontaneously drop into a back flip! It's going to be different times around here. Looking so forward to following your every step.

Much love sent to you and yours.
Amy