The amount of work that is required to live on a boat, while very much worth it, takes a bit to get used to. There are propane tanks to be hauled to upper and lower decks, until they run out and then have to be hauled to the shore to be refilled. Propane is our source of heat, cooking, hot water, and runs our refrigerator.
Our water has to be hauled from shore to the big boat on a dingy with a 55 gallon barrel, then pumped into big boat's water tanks.
Power happens by generator, which requires gasoline to be hauled, as well.
Laundry has to be put into bags, taken in the dingy to shore, and done at the laundry mat.
Groceries, brings a whole different kind of stress. Parking and unloading when there is just 2 of us, one of which doesn't want to stay with the groceries on the dock by herself while I attempt to find parking in a tourist attraction town, a block from the beach.
All of this has to be done (mostly) on a daily basis.
Also, given the fact that my husband's work hours have changed for the first time in 22 years and totally messed up the commute times, he has decided to stay near his work a few nights a week. That leaves my 10 year old and I to accomplish many of these tasks on our own.
We are doing ok, I think....it's not easy by any means, but we are handling it. And like I said, the pay off is worth it. With a huge smile, my daughter said to me just this morning, "Can you believe we get to live here, Momma?" I agree with her, 100%.
I'm getting much better at handling the dingy. We are reading most nights, as we don't watch tv much anymore. The antenna gets a couple channels, but the power required just isn't worth it, sometimes. My daughter got invited to a birthday party yesterday, so she's excited about that.
The last couple of weeks have been pretty stressful. Our house fell out of escrow - and while I'm incredibly thankful the buyers are currently renting my house while they get their loan together, it was a huge let down, to have the deal fall apart after so long.
I missed the memo for school letting out early, twice. When you are late to pick up your child, twice in 3 weeks, it's just bad form. I received the bad mom of the year award.
I miss my husband, and not only for handling the daily complications that pop up( hot water heater stopped working the day he went back to work, so it's cold showers until he gets back).
Everything is an adjustment...I know we'll get through this hectic time in our lives, eventually.
We'll get there.
No comments:
Post a Comment