LBC (Life Before Cruising) meant very little free time. Tim and I both worked. A lot. When we were home, our time was filled with tending to the business of life outside of work - cooking, cleaning, laundry, yard work, vehicle work, and the endless list of errands that accompany land life. It also meant that we had very little time for friends. It's a good thing that we happened to be best friends because we didn't spend much time with anybody else.
LAC (Life After Cruising) has been another story. We've met more people in the 18 months since we pulled out of our home slip than we had met in the 20 years prior. Maybe it's because we have more time to spend in the quality kind of discussion that builds relationships. Maybe it's because that discussion is not hampered by scattered concentration that is thinking about the million things that need done before the next work day. Maybe it's because we all share the same love of the water and of this unique lifestyle, a common ground of experience that paves the way for easy friendship. Whatever the reason, we're endlessly grateful for the many deep friendships we've forged around our life of cruising.
We got to spend the evening on Kelly Nicole, our good friends Paul and Deb's Morgan 44 Center Cockpit, telling stories and talking about their impending departure for places South. They will likely beat us out of here and, since they are heading to the deep reaches of the Caribbean and we are not, we will likely not see them again for some time. It was a good evening filled with excellent food and lots of laughter and as we climbed into the dinghy I realized that even if we don't see them for a couple years, when we are again reunited, we will pick up right where we left off. It is the way of Cruisers, and one of the things I most cherish about this lifestyle, this sense of belonging to a group of like-minded souls who really care. As tired as the song is, I still keep humming this bit of the Cheers theme:
LAC (Life After Cruising) has been another story. We've met more people in the 18 months since we pulled out of our home slip than we had met in the 20 years prior. Maybe it's because we have more time to spend in the quality kind of discussion that builds relationships. Maybe it's because that discussion is not hampered by scattered concentration that is thinking about the million things that need done before the next work day. Maybe it's because we all share the same love of the water and of this unique lifestyle, a common ground of experience that paves the way for easy friendship. Whatever the reason, we're endlessly grateful for the many deep friendships we've forged around our life of cruising.
We got to spend the evening on Kelly Nicole, our good friends Paul and Deb's Morgan 44 Center Cockpit, telling stories and talking about their impending departure for places South. They will likely beat us out of here and, since they are heading to the deep reaches of the Caribbean and we are not, we will likely not see them again for some time. It was a good evening filled with excellent food and lots of laughter and as we climbed into the dinghy I realized that even if we don't see them for a couple years, when we are again reunited, we will pick up right where we left off. It is the way of Cruisers, and one of the things I most cherish about this lifestyle, this sense of belonging to a group of like-minded souls who really care. As tired as the song is, I still keep humming this bit of the Cheers theme:
Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name,
And they're always glad you came;
You want to be where you can see,
Our troubles are all the same;
You want to be where everybody knows your name.
Where everybody knows your name,
And they're always glad you came;
You want to be where you can see,
Our troubles are all the same;
You want to be where everybody knows your name.
Cheers!
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