I’m a goal-driven person. I’m also a list-maker. So New Year’s Resolutions are totally in my wheelhouse. I make them every year and, for the most part, I achieve them. Usually, they’re focused on personal intentions … beginning a new exercise or health routine, setting goals for writing, or learning a new skill.
Five years ago, I set a big goal of launching a blog to chronicle our preparation to circumnavigate. I was so very proud when I hit the button on the first published post. It has given me much joy as I share our life aboard our 42 ft sailboat on the Alameda Riviera, culinary creations from my tiny kitchen/galley, short stories and random musings. I posted weekly for three solid years, even as our goal to leave kept getting pushed back due to family circumstances. My audience grew to over 10,000 followers across the globe, and I reveled in the knowledge that I really was a writer.
And then Covid hit. My free-time and peace-of-mind were replaced with homeschooling my three grandchildren and a constant worry about the pandemic. I’d post randomly but my heart was no longer committed to weekly posts since we weren’t sure when we could safely begin our life away from the marina. It made me sad to even look at my blog because I felt like a failure, even though it wasn’t for lack of desire to cut those docklines.
We’re still in a world-wide pandemic, but with vaccines and proper precautions, we believe we can seriously commit to heading south this fall.
I digress … back to this blog and my 2022 resolutions.
- I resolve to make time for my writing this year. I’m good at giving advice and highly encourage self-care for my husband and kids, but it’s a bit harder to focus on me without feeling guilty. Realizing and celebrating my own self-worth is something I deserve.
- I resolve to post weekly again … even if it’s just a few paragraphs on the progress of our preparations, a new idea or even a change of plans. This will hold me/us accountable as it would really suck to post that we got nothing done in any period of time!
- I resolve to focus on the end-result of heading south, despite the challenges that will surely present themselves. I’m going to take a deep dive into writing about our trip on our friends’ sailboat, Fundango, last November. The memories of that adventure motivate us to keep steady on the goal of joining them in the Sea of Cortez before Christmas this year.
- Remember our motto: Vivo O Sonho … Living the Dream!
So, precious reader, come along as we set Sonho’s course and install systems, reorganize for life away from land, learn new skills and become self-sufficient. I hope you’ll enjoy going on this life-long dream journey with us. 🙂
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PS: On my home page, you will find categories under the mermaid art (created by our son’s talented and lovely partner, Jenna Miller):
- You Live on a Boat?!
- Story Shelf
- In the Galley
When we had to delay our plans to leave in 2019, I shifted away from boat-related topics and instead focused on posting recipes and short stories. Writing about Living our Dream was depressing when there was no lighthouse at the end of the storm. You can click on each category to view previous posts relating to that particular topic, instead of wading through the mish-mash of the last year.
Below is the link to the very first post on this blog from April 16, 2018, when we had set the date of April 16, 2019, to head south.
This post from March 9, 2019 details our decision to postpone our original GO Time from April 16, 2019 to the summer of 2020.
And THIS post from March 4, 2020 chronicles a major family situation that forced us to once again postpone, this time to winter 2020. And then Covid hit literally one week later, and we didn’t make any more plans.
2021 was NOT the year to go, with the virus mutating and entry into foreign countries still not fully open.
The new date, God-willing, is September 18, 2022. Is it third time’s the charm or am I tempting fate by putting a date on it?
Either way, I’m motivated and moving forward with good intentions of having a Bon Voyage Party on September 17th. I can’t wait to chronicle our journey to leaving the Alameda Riviera in our wake, heading out the Golden Gate and turning left on the anniversary of my 58th spin around the sun.
Vivo O Sonho 