February 03, 2011

Being Artemo

Well here I sit at 5 in the morning, wide awake. I feel all mixed up inside. Artemo has been sold. I don't know even how to begin to tell you how I am feeling.

For so long now planning for Artemo and then owning Artemo has been the main feature of my life. It feels so strange to be standing now at the edge of a brand new adventure that is in its infancy. I keep telling myself to look forward because the looking forward is so exciting and new but every so often I remember and it hurts so much. I quickly try to push the memories from my mind and look ahead again.

I laid awake last night thinking how all our cruising friends refer to us as "Artemo". If we see them on the street you can always hear a, "hey...Artemo!"....it occurred to me that we won't be "Artemo" anymore. I loved being "Artemo".These have been some amazing years and I include the goal setting and planning in these years. What an adventure.

On Saturday the new owners take possession.They are a fantastic English couple who I know will love her as we have. It is going to feel so wrong to walk away from her though. She has kept us all safe. She really did know what to do when we didn't. I remember Graham saying to me, "Don't worry Artemo knows her way around the world."

I am happy though that a new couple with energy and excitement will step on board Artemo and continue to breath life into her. We look forward to seeing her continue to improve. She looks so spiff and polished now. In the past month Graham and I have done all those projects we wish we would of done a while ago. Graham even found time to replace the cockpit floor. Oh and you will all laugh at this....Alex and I finally set up the shower inside and saw how it worked.....brilliantly! Why the heck weren't we showering inside I ask you? We even have hot water when the engine is running.

We had our last cement island party last night. Champagne was popped, songs were sung and hugs were had. Amelia wrote a beautiful song for her friends on Mojo and as she was singing it, I couldn't help thinking how blessed we are to have met so many colorful vibrant people. I was thinking if they were an abstract painting they would be splashes of red, purple, yellow and orange. We won't forget any of you....Gemini, Aries, Mystic Journey, Gromit, Simpatica, Stray Kitty, Mojo, Nikita, High Five, Solange, Shannon, Malikalilou....and the list goes on. I look forward to continuing to follow all of their adventures.

The timing is pretty good for this all to happen. Grahams folks and Aunt arrive today and tonight they will spend our last night with us on board. Tomorrow we will hand over the keys and head off on our tour of New Zealand.

Beyond this point family discussions are still in progress :-)! The knowns are that we will be returning to Canada and working on those 3 important things..."Home, Work and School!" Very exciting. The kids are still dreaming of a owning a dog and Amelia is thinking about how she will decorate her room. We all still think of Toronto as our home but we will need to go and pack up our life in Lacombe. It will be so strange to go back to our house in Lacombe, that we left in 2005 and go through our things. It will be like a time capsule.

Well the sun is rising and it is absolutely peaceful outside. Artemo is sitting beautifully in the flat calm water....time for my morning coffee in the cockpit....man I am going to miss this....

8 comments:

  1. tug tug tug...your post tugged at my heart strings too!!!!Say hi to everyone for me and mom and dad and Cathy too :) We are off on our holiday saturday morning...wooop whoop!!! Love to you all!

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  2. Hi, I could just see everyone sitting on your island beside Artemo, listening to Amelia sing. Brought tears to my eyes, so glad I got to see first hand, what your life was like. You have been so blessed, enjoy the next few weeks of seeing NZ. Canada awaits your return.
    Love you all and Artemo..

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  3. A fitting time for one of my favorite Dr. Suess quotes, "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened!".
    What a life you guys have! What's next? I'm looking forward to the next chapter back in Alberta.

    Good-bye Artemo. Thanks for keeping the Perrys safe while they followed their sailing dreams.

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  4. I can just imagine the emotions you are feeling about selling your Artemo. Its been such an exciting journey for you all. The knowledge your children learned sailing around the world is something they could never get in school. I think all your readers got educated along the way as well and we will all miss reading your bloggs. Have fun with your company and seeing New Zealand. It looks like a spectacular place to visit.

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  5. That last comment was from me. Trese

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  6. The Acreage - Fort MacleodFebruary 4, 2011 at 9:19 AM

    We can totally empathize - now look forward - the world ois full of adventures

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  7. I am going to miss her too! It is weird to think of you all without Artemo, and to think of Artemo with others. Beautiful boat, and meticulously maintained..so many experiences! :)

    Looking forward to seeing in Toronto!!

    Martha

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  8. Congratulations on selling Artemo. I can imagine your flood of emotions. Come visit us when you come through Auckland,
    Kamaya
    we're at Pier 21

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