Possibilities

Yesterday we arrived back at Panama City. We all kept saying to each other how strange we felt. As much as we are all embracing the twists on this adventure we all never thought we would be coming back. There are so many options available to us now that it is a bit overwhelming. A favorite pastime now is to play the, "What if we....." game. Nothing is off the table.

For now though we have decided to go back through the canal (can you believe it) and go and play in the San Blas for a while. Beyond that the plan is looking like maybe sailing back to Cartagena and possibly pulling the boat out for the rainy season and returning to Toronto for the summer and first semester of school. In amongst this we have to figure out how much fixing we want to do. We could just do patch work for now? Possibilities.

The kids love the idea of coming back for awhile. Amelia said how much she loves sailing for half the year and living in Toronto for half the year. They are both so flexible that it is really wonderful.

Artemo is coming back to order. We are all working hard and dare I even say this.....having fun. It is true what they say....hard work is good for the soul. Graham and Alex got a temporary fix in place for the anchor windlass and have reattached it to the deck. We have emptied out cupboards and wash down soaked shelves. We have dried out cushions and organized countless bags of laundry. The kids are taking on more and more responsibility it is fun to watch them evolve from passengers to crew members. Alex is taking over a few of my jobs lately and it is pretty cool. He had the helm and drove the boat as Graham anchored. I watched from the sidelines as he gave it a bit more gas, a bit less, a jab of reverse, etc. He did brilliantly. He is also lowers the 9.9 motor for the dinghy to Graham and the two of them ready it. He even manually inflated the entire dinghy on his own yesterday.

I definitely don't want to box the kids into roles but they do gravitate towards and are better at very different jobs. Amelia is 100 times better at dishes, bed making, cleaning, and organizing. She is really great at anticipating what people might need and making it happen before they even ask. She comes up with game ideas, holiday decorating.....she is our Team Spirit Coordinator!

Thanks so much to everyone who has sent emails or comments. It is really appreciated. I read an email out to the kids last night and at the end of the email it said, "....with your dream on hold". Alex stopped me and said, "Our dream isn't on hold? We are living our dream.". Made me happy to see how far we had all come on this journey.

Each time I start to wonder if we are on the right path, I go back to my dream. It reads, "I have a dream and it isn't to sail. My dream is for Graham and I to spend as much quality time as possible with our children while they want to hang out with us. My dream includes sharing new experiences as a family, meeting new people, challenging ourselves, problem solving together, feeling the pride of accomplishment together, and learning together." Check, check and check. Always makes me feel better. LOL.