The first ...

... of the tear-filled good-byes.

Daughter Eldest and Family left for home today; Grandson and I making a last "excursion" down the docks while I tried to explain to his 5 year old self that this was probably the last time he would visit this place. He tried, but I'm not sure he ever grasped the idea that the next time we saw each other Dema and Grampy-T would be living on "The Boat" full time, sailing to places far away from Lake Carlyle. Though his Mom and Dad hope to join us often (and soon) on salt water, the harsh reality is there is no real way to know when the next time will be that we are together again; it might be a pretty long time.

I managed to hold it together until the last car door was closed and the last wave waved; saying good-bye is part of the life we have chosen. We are going to use the rest of today as a kind of "day of rest". Tomorrow will start the serious push of getting Kintala to the ocean.