Giving up on the Dream? Hardly.

Apparently some of you are utterly devastated that we will be taking a pause from cruising.  A couple of you have even sent emails with calculated pleas aimed at changing our minds, complete with scenarios and action plans.  "Please don't give up on the dream!" you say... "Do you really want to be frustrated landlubbers?" you ask.  While your devotion to our blog, lifestyle and dream is completely heartwarming and flattering, I want to reassure you all:  we will be cruising again!  Please, do not despair, we are absolutely not "giving up on our dream" - we're simply putting it on hold for what will ultimately be a small wrinkle of time in the grand scheme of life.

Here's the thing:  sometimes we have to make decisions that we never expected we'd have to make.  Sometimes, life hands us something we never saw coming and we have to change tacks.  We are forced to "sail the wind we're in" and head into waters we weren't planning on in order to best accommodate.  You've all been here; college rejection letters, breakups, illness, layoffs, job offers, family obligations, relocations....and yes, babies.  We've all faced forks in the road and had to make a choice - sometimes easy, sometimes not - on which path to take.  Lucky for us, our "something" is a gift, and not a tragedy.  Our "something" is a tremendous blessing that will ultimately enrich our lives more than any cruising stint ever will.  Our "something" is new life that will, one day, make cruising even more fun and fulfilling.

I will be totally honest:  in our experience, cruising with one baby was a piece of cake.  I know that is not the case for many folks cruising with infants - but for us, one infant was easy to manage on a boat.  But now we'll have two infants at once in addition to a very active toddler.  We are not delusional, we are realistic.  Anyone who has twins will tell you that two babies is not twice, but four times the work.  Anyone with twins will tell you that raising two at once is a huge challenge for even the most equipped couples.   Our self-imposed hiatus from cruising is going to allow us the time we need to adjust to this new life, find our groove and enable us to give our babies the best start possible.  It will provide us with the means to refill our cruising kitty and give us time to make plans for phase two (or would it be three?) of cruising.  The fact that we'll be living next door to my semi-retired parents, rent free, will be a huge, huge help.  We are incredibly lucky.

While there is, of course, a large part of us that mourns the fact that we are taking a break from the ocean and lifestyle we love, there is also a large part that is excited for this change.  I've said it before, many times in fact... living on a boat is not without it's challenges and while it might look beautiful, glamorous and ideal from the outside, I assure you, it has it's difficulties.  We are looking forward to being able to revel in the advantages of a semi-stable life on terra firma: enjoying family, friends, and the innumerable conveniences that most of us take for granted every single day.  Because we have been (gratefully) spared the need to buy or rent a house, we will also be saving money - which means we'll be able to get back to cruising faster than most faced with a similar situation.

So please, do not look at this change in plans as an abandonment of our dreams and for the love of all things holy, do not pity us (and, if you could also refrain from sending things about the "horrors" of raising twins, we would appreciate that as well).  We will hardly be "suffering" and we are actually looking forward to this new adventure.  I will still be writing, I will still be me and I can promise you this:  you'll see us sail off again.  I might not be able to give you an exact departure date but one thing I know for sure is that this is not a "death" to be mourned, but a new life - and adventure - to be celebrated.  If you care to join in on the ride, we'd love to have you with us.  If not - that's okay too - maybe we'll catch you when we head out again.