Boats and Babies - I'm Thinking they are Very Similar

Our "baby"

Here are the ways in which owning a boat is not unlike having a baby around*:

1)  They keep you up at night - sometimes every hour on the hour.  A full night's sleep without having to check on them, tend to them, or fix them is VERY rare.
2)  They get you sick - babies are (seemingly) sick all the time, thus getting their parents sick.  Boats aren't all that different.  Scott and I have been fighting some sniffily sneezy snotty nose cold pretty much since Chicago.
3)  The worry (OH the worry!) - always wondering, "Is this the best solution for______? Are we doing the right thing?  Is this normal?"  Constantly thumbing through books and searching in forums to find out if what you are doing is "right".  If you leave them, you are non-stop thinking/wondering/worrying about them.
4)  They need your constant attention - without it, they will fall into various states of disrepair and/or break.
5)  They smell funny at times - babies have poopy diapers, boats have bilges and holding tanks.  I'm not sure which odor is worse (because I've heard baby poop can be FOUL) but the smells on a boat, at times, can be pretty brutal.
6)  You must think of their future - planning ahead is the name of the game.
7)  They (and associated costs) are expensive - diapers and formula are to a baby what halyards and shackles are to a boat.
8) They bring great joy - and a lot of adventure.
9) Yours is the best - enough said. :)

*Obviously, we don't have babies and don't know any of this for sure.  But lots of our friends do.  And no, we don't have any "news".

Love,
Brittany (& Scott)