This last year has been very difficult.
Almost a year ago, we said goodbye to Kelly's mother Susan Kendall. When we found out back in 2008 that Kelly was pregnant with Christopher, Susan and her husband Doug found an apartment in the complex next to theirs and helped us get into it so they would be nearby to help. And they were a Godsend. They were able to help us by rides, babysitting, dinners, advice, the list goes on...
Then Susan got sick.
It wasn't too long before we started helping out as much as we could with her, making her last days as special as we could. We even took video of Christopher's perspective on the new Cars ride at Disney's California Adventure so she could experience it vicariously. I'm grateful I was able to purchase Tito's Tacos for her culinary bucket list she had (she only missed In 'N Out one last time).
Now, nearly a year later, we are adrift in a stagnant sea, waiting for a wind to pick up. Kelly's been working at the same place her mother worked at before her illness, often being reminded of her in the course of her day. If not at work, then when she passes the apartment complex next to ours. We've discussed moving for a while, mentioning Temecula, Ojai, San Diego, and others, but never really feeling like any of these were right.
Then Kelly starts talking about liveaboards.
Living aboard a boat is pretty common; this blog is but one of thousands out there dedicated to discussing this liveaboard lifestyle. It just had never occurred to Kelly that it was possible to do that without retirement. In fact, it was the lady who was working in her mother's former position, Marsha, who told Kelly what it was like living on a boat and invited us to come aboard sometime to experience it. We did, meeting Marsha, her husband Dennis, and their children and grandchildren. They invited us on a day when they were celebrating their anniversary and their oldest son Dennis' (D for short) birthday. It gave us a fantastic experience at what a large group of family would be like on board a boat of our own, a plausible possibility with our circle of friends.
Afterwards, in the stability of our apartment (while I wistfully remembered the gentle rocking of a few hours before) we discussed our options for moving forward. We talked about our reservations and fears, what kind of effect it would have on our Kiddo, and what could go wrong.
We're going to go for it.
This blog is my way of allowing you into our journey towards this off-the-beaten-path lifestyle. You may be an old friend, a family member checking up on us, a random stranger looking to see what those who have undertaken this journey before you have done and learn from their - our - mistakes. Regardless of how you ended up here, welcome. Nothing happens by chance; let's do this.
