Perspective is everything

Our Family

Ray and our 6 wonderful children 🙂

So with the start of our GoFundMe campaign for videography equipment, the continued refitting on the boat, and setting the date of June 3, 2017, to have Marguerite in the water, the whole family has begun to feel the excitement and anticipation of ACTUALLY MAKING OUR DREAM A REALITY! With that said, this has evoked some other feelings and presented in different reactions from each of our children. We are a happily blended “mine, yours, and ours” family of Ray’s nearly 16 year old daughter, Rebekah, his nearly 7 year old son, Jared, my 14 year old son, Blaine, 12 year old son, Connor, 10 year old daughter, Chloe, and our 13 month old son, Ethan. When it comes to building a dream with kids, results may vary; we have a few that are excited to go and a few that we’ll likely do the bulk of our sailing without as they begin college and other adventures in the coming years (although we hope to have them on the water for at least a little while!). It has taken us a while to become comfortable with that idea, but moving forward, we have accepted that our dream is not necessarily theirs (at least not to the same extent). So, the following is just an interesting, humorous, and somewhat eye opening collection of the thoughts and concerns of our children with regard to this idea of cruising as a lifestyle. It’s a pros and cons, or as Chloe put it “an excitement and anxiety list” of their notions on cruising.

“Could I just do it for a few months with you guys? Like, my senior trip before I start college?” (I respond with “maybe even a little while you’re still in high school?”) “As long as I don’t miss band practice.”    -Rebekah, 16

“Mom, you’re kidding right? You can’t leave me in the dinghy overnight as punishment!?!?! What if a whale knocks me out and eats me!?!?!”

“If I get my diesel mechanic certification while I’m still in high school, I can probably earn a living while we cruise working on other peoples’ motors.” (I respond with “good idea”) “Yeah…my revenge is that I’m going to still live with you during your entire retirement on the boat.”                                   -Blaine, 14

“You mean, there won’t be WiFi!?!? Just get me to Europe.”

“I think I could be very happy on a boat for a year at a time…wait…you mean we’ll all be on the same boat?”                                                           -Connor, 12

“My biggest fear is losing the boat in a storm. And running out of food. And the baby getting hurt. And being eaten by a shark. Or the baby being eaten by a shark. You know…I’m afraid of a lot. But that’s why I got a book about sharks and why you’re taking classes to learn to sail. Learning is the best defense against fear.”

“I’m super excited about being around all the sea life. And possibly becoming a mermaid when I turn 13.”      -Chloe, 10

“I can’t wait to homeschool on the boat! Can part of my school be learning to drive the boat?”

“Can I bring my toys?”    -Jared, 7

“Ma! Ma? Mama! Mamamama…”                       -Ethan, 1

So, that’s been some of the recent comments from the mouths of babes at our house. And some of those concerns, particularly the safety ones, are really influencing our goal setting and timeline for cruising. We want our kids, and all the rest of our family (I’m looking at you, Greg Campbell 😉 lol) to feel safe enough to enjoy the excitement of this new lifestyle as we embark on our cruising adventures. Fortunately for me and my husband, there’s no shortage of different perspectives around here to get us to think from all angles. 🙂

Peace and blessings,

Mindi