It's the beginning of another year, and the dream of my
adulthood has changed significantly over the past few years. I used to dream, when I
was a teenager, that I'd be highly successful in publishing a handful of novels
by the time I was 25 and that breakfast would be enjoyed on a balcony table in
Paris with a view of the Eiffel Tower off in the distance, having already
traveled to exotic far off places like Egypt.
Today, I can imagine nothing better than wracking my brain over a piece
of writing while the boat gently sways with the slightest of harbor currents,
keeping hot water for tea and having new ideas while the sun begins to set in
the early afternoon, sailing every possible weekend and becoming an expert at
it all. I'm still not published, I'm
still working on second-drafts of things, but the fire is still there. The scenery is new, the boat is a symbol of
possibility, my husband is still the breadwinner while I search for employment
opportunity, and the dog is curled up at my feet. At fourteen or fifteen,
I honestly didn't even imagine a dog. I
pictured a husband somewhere in the middle of it all, and I got the best one, ever, but the entertaining
child/poodle is a daily delight I hadn't even pondered. Now I can't imagine living without her. A little furry face who loves us
unconditionally because we fell in love with her and brought her home with
us. I could never have imagined that by
the time I was 28, I would have gotten married and moved from one continent to
another and back again within the first two years of marriage, not to mention
relocating to another state by the end of the calender year. A whirlwind that made me giddy; new sights,
new places to explore, new people to call our friends. We say it a lot, every time we move and get
re-settled, but we're kind of amazing.
We truly rock at this whole “shift again” lifestyle. When we decide that we're going somewhere, we
shift into high gear. Clothes get
washes, sorted, packed into boxes or designated into suitcase piles, the apartment
is half in limbo, our heart rates go up and every morning we wake up with a new
“to-do” list but by the time we land where we're supposed to be, we're
breathing again, we're excited, we've stopped worrying about half the little
details and life is awesome. We
downshift, we acclimate, we get it together, and it works. And yes, there are always little issues that
come up and we somehow are blessed with the kind of good luck that gets us
through them. Knowing we're going to be
settling in for a time is helping us to shift our focus on being thrifty and
financially stable, and looking into the future a bit more definitively. Being so close to home, being back in
California, is the place to be. In a few
months we'll own the boat we're living on, in a year, we'll have a small
apartment somewhere close by and I'm imagining go-bags constantly prepped and
hanging out in the truck of the car so that we can spend a week on the boat at
any given moment. In Miami, it was good
to be at least back on home soil.
Monterey is our heart and our home, and it's a wonderful feeling to be
back near it as we settle here in the Bay Area.
Driving back and forth the couple times we've done in the past four
weeks has been the most amazing feeling, knowing we can be there in a couple
hours on a whim, if we like. I'm no
longer one to make New Year's Resolutions, as I hardly keep to them, like most
human beings, but since we're back here and now living the boat lifestyle it's
in my head to learn as much as I can about living aboard and figuring out as
much as I can to make it as successful as possible. I'm also wanting to work, at least part time,
to keep writing, and spend more time with my family as I've been away from them
for two years. Life shifts in funny
ways. Kris is fond of saying that the
universe gives you exactly what you ask for even though it never looks how
you'd expect it to look. That has
certainly been true of our adventure thus far.
You can have dreams, and they will come true if you keep them in your
heart. You might not recognize them but
if you find yourself happy one day, guess what, your dream has aligned with
your life and your goals. It's a nice
feeling to be in a position to see that one of your milestones is just up ahead
of you by a few paces.
Hope everyone's New Year is off to such a re-energized, positive start!
Happy 2013!
Enjoy,
Allie H.
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