The Adventure Continues

There are some places that I never anticipated finding myself in. Cleveland, Ohio is one of them. But for all it's more-or-less-flatness, midwest-ness and general seediness, it hasn't been a bad place to be for a few days. There's a big park that I can walk into that stretches for miles, and the weather has been kind. And after the busy months I've had recently, this is all I need.

For the first time ever, I left Europa before the end of a shipyard. It was weird, it didn't feel right leaving her in pieces, and everyone getting ready for the last-week scramble to the finish. I'll be coming back to her, but it felt like a somber farewell on that cloudy quiet Sunday morning.

The next part of my adventure starts tomorrow on Pride of Baltimore II. We'll be sailing out of Lake Eerie and down the coast to Maryland to wrap up her sailing season. The opportunity came unexpectedly but I'm looking forward to the challenge and the change.  

A Thought on Love

There are times when cold reason and harsh reality overtake sunny dreams and great expectations. The need for practicality arises and must be met there and then.

In dire straits and times of darkness, I only hope my heart can rise to the occasion with the deft thoughtfulness of a true friend.

February Cleaning

I cleaned out my closet this weekend. Now that doesn't sound exciting, but considering I've been at sea for three months and some of the boxes hadn't been opened in close to three years, it was interesting. I found all sorts of things, a lot of which I was curious as to why I had kept. Some things were sentimental favours that just aren't part of my life anymore and there were quite a few clothes that I will never wear. There have been many changes happening since I went to sea, emotionally, relationally, work-wise, and I realized as I cleaned my closet that it's also important to clean other areas of one's life as well. If you don't get rid of the old stuff, there isn't going to be room for the new things. Patterns, reactions, and baggage from your past will come back to bite you if you keep carrying it with you and you don't pull it out, examine it and decide what to do with it. When things are painful or difficult, we bury them, put them in a box in the back of the closet, and hope time will heal them. Time helps with the initial pang, but you get to a point where you have to deal with whatever it is and move on. Don't let the past define the future!