Tinsel and Sunshine

There were lots of gifts under the wee little tree. Aunties and uncles and grandparents from all corners of the globe generously sent packages for the kids, plus things from mom and dad of course. And neighbors brought by gifts as well. And I began to worry that it might all be too much. Not just literally too much, as in where the heck will we put these things... but too much as in overwhelming for these little people who are used to being fairly minimalist compared most American households.

And I was right. As I sit here tonight, there are still many unopened packages under the wee little tree. And that's ok. I will tuck them away for another time. They were both so happy with the first 1 or 2 things they opened they sort of self regulated from there. After a special breakfast and cleaning up a bit we got what this mama considers to be the best gift of all... sunshine! After two solid days of fog and heavy rains, it was soooooo good to feel the sun, even if only for a couple of hours

Zach said, "Let's go to the beach! So we did. No new toys were brought along. Just a strand of tinsel garland, the wind, and sunshine was all they needed to make things merry and bright.

They seemed so much lighter, and more joyful out on the beach with nothing, than back on the boat surrounded by everything. Because the nothing truly is everything that's important... freedom, fresh air, family.

Walking back Naia held my hand extra tight. "Mama I love you. And you are my family! And ZZ and dada are my family too. I love having a family!"

You can't wrap that up.

Solstice Weekend

It may only be a few minutes a week, but we're on the way back towards the sun.  We took the time to slow down this Solstice weekend. We feasted with friends. We stayed close to home. We indulged in sun foods. We talked about finding our inner light. 

And once again we walked the spiral of light with friends to celebrate this special time. 

Wishing everyone love and light on this Solstice night.

neighborhood shuffle

So.... there's been a lot happening around here. Maybe too much. I am just moving forward one day, no actually one hour at a time.

The most obvious ordeal is that they are ripping up and rebuilding some of the docks at our marina. And of course it's the 2 docks where all of the liveaboards are, so some temporary changes had to be made. All of the neighborhood boats were relocated into random slips around the marina, and we were moved to the end all alone except for one other liveaboard. Well, not all alone because we have the construction crew chugging in on tug boat and barge each morning a mere inches from our boat. They pass precariously close, like high five and Grey Poupon close.

But there is no better free entertainment in the winter time than a marine construction project. A huge digger on a barge pushed in by a scrappy wee tug boat pulling up muck from the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay and plucking pilings is just about the coolest thing ever. Not to mention the extra lumber to play on.

The kids love it so very much. Not only are they constantly running to wave hi to the crew as they work each day, after one particularly stirring bottom dredging session the kids burst into applause, cheering and yelling, "Encore, encore!"

It's sort of weird to have this big empty space along the dock, no boats, no finger piers, it's beautiful and disorienting all at once.

Without getting into specifics here, I am juggling about a thousand balls in the air right now. Things may slow to a molasses drip here in BlogLandia, but I will check in when I can and catch up on the flip side with all kinds of crazy updates.

And you can keep up here and there on Facebook. Yep, I finally created a page... https://www.facebook.com/zachaboard

tucked in

There are all kinds of changes happening around the marina and on the boat. The marina moved us to a new slip. Maybe for the winter. Maybe forever. Maybe, not sure, we'll see. It's actually our old slip that we had a long time back. And then we were moved, and now who knows. We've been loving the new view, the wide open.

Of course it comes with more rocking and rolling in a blow. And a longer walk down a now often icy in the morning dock. I am hoping there will be less ice and snow this year.

On the boat we're ready for the weather because the shrink wrapping is done. We did it a little early this year for various reasons, but now we're all tucked in and protected from the cold wind and whatever else comes our way.

The kids are already enjoying the extra little solar cave the "bubble" provides. It's a warm, quiet place to just hang out and re-charge. I wish I could lay in there in the quiet too.

nothing gold can stay

The leaves dazzled, fell, and now lay in a crunchy carpet all around. Naia keeps asking, "Am I still 4 years old mama even though it's not October anymore?" What an all at once freeing and frustrating feeling it must be to have zero concept of time or age.

We managed to rake up the piles of leaves from under the oak tree before the marina landscapers got to them, which meant the kids could rake and jump and throw to their heart's content.

Now the wind has kicked in, the temperatures have plunged, and the amber glow is laying in heaps beneath stark naked trees. The shrink wrap company is scheduled for this week. We're just a turkey dinner away from the start of winter. I am making my annual promise to myself to face the dark season with a brave heart and positive attitude.

And I am holding tight to the last bits of gold.