Sunday, May 8, 2011

Happy Mother's Day!

"Father, daughter, 
down by the water
Shells sink, dreams float,
life's good on our boat..."
~Jimmy Buffett:  "Delany Talks to Statues"

Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude for a fabulous weekend! Ally came home to visit after five months away at college, and we all had a blast being together! We'd last seen her in Denver in late February, but we hadn't seen her since then, being aboard Equinox and cruising the islands. Now that we're back on land for a bit, it meant the world to have her fly to join us here in Florida for the weekend! Happy Mother's Day indeed!

Cruising is a blessing, in so many ways. One of the most beautiful -- and difficult -- blessings is awareness. Being aboard and cruising the seas is amazing, since you see the world with a true traveler's eye that few folks experience. But along with the wonders of exploring new islands and cultures, there are moments when you are isolated, alone and without easy contact...and that is when you experience the poignant realization of how precious family is. That awareness catches in my throat: for so long, Ron, Ally and I have had the sheer joy of being together aboard, of sharing space and time, stories and laughs, the fun of making memories through activities that everyone enjoyed, from diving and swimming to hiking and biking and beyond....how fortunate we were to simply be together, aboard! From our slip in Baltimore where we walked to dinners with our dear pier neighbors from the marina to Bermuda where we anchored offshore near the homes of friends, we've been together, a family. 

But with Ally now eighteen and off to college, she's no longer the little girl in the starboard cabin: she is now off on her own, exploring the mountains and valleys of attending college in Colorado. As parents, we are learning how very hard it is to simultaneously miss her, yet wish her well in going out and exploring on her own! We're delighted in her successes in school thus far, interested in her course choices and impressed with her diligence in her studies, fascinated in seeing her mature and grow .... but miss the little imp, the "little bilge rat", that was underfoot for so long! Where did she go? Time apart makes one simple thing all the more delightful: being together again! 

And so, this Mother's Day weekend, have fun we did: from dining out for sushi to home-cooked meals of Ron's fabulous jumbo-lump backfin crab cakes, from swimming in the pool to chatting in the hot-tub, to fishing all day in Tingum, our center console, to having family movie nights at home, we had a blast!! Ally is clearly our "good-luck charm" when it comes to fishing, as we caught the most mahi (not to mention our largest ever) with her aboard. We laughed, trolled in the sunshine along the Florida coast, reveled at the wall-to-wall blue skies and blue water of the Gulf Stream, sang along with songs on the stereo, lost fish, caught fish and laughed all the while at our efforts to do all of the above! Fish on, and family together -- nothing better than that! Gratitude!
Trust me, this was a group effort!
It's almost taller than she is!
Notice that Ron is only holding the tail: Ally's holding most of its weight! :)

1 comment:

  1. Good move Ron. LOL

    Notice that Ron is only holding the tail: Ally's holding most of its weight! :)

    Bill Kelleher

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.