Shiny boat and STUFF!!

I haven’t had a lot of time to sit and think. Our days have been really full. Even though we did a lot to the boat before we left California, it has been project after project. The condition of the boat post shipping just added to the list and cost. I knew that we had weeks of organizing and provisioning. Added to that, we got here right during the holidays. But fortunately,  we found people to help and stores with inventory. SHOCKING!!  We found that in California we couldn’t get anyone competent and things just got left undone. We had new electronics installed and it took months to finish and things still didn’t get resolved. Totally frustrating! This new life in Fort Lauderdale is eye opening to the boating world here. There is a store for every imaginable service. People even specialize in just one part on a boat. We met a guy who works only on heads! HEADS!!! Who knew! There is everything from small mom and pops to huge boater warehouse and consignment. We have had a ball shopping and buying everything we couldn’t find in California. The boat has a beautiful new shine. This 20 year old boat has a shine like a brand new one. Our new dock mates are envious. We keep telling them its just a phone call and few boat bucks! (Boaters understand that term) As of this morning, we have a clean boat inside and out. Everything has a place. I hope I can remember where I stowed things. It might be a scavenger hunt but, everything is put away!  I woke up able to breath this morning. Not anxious and not a huge list of To-Do’s.

So what happened to all our STUFF??

As I reflect on last year and begin this new year I can’t help but reflect on STUFF! Why on earth do we all collect so much STUFF! This process of moving onto our boat and selling everything we couldn’t move onto the boat (we did store a few things I just couldn’t part with) made me a little sad. I have spent a ton of energy on my stuff. I love stuff. Old stuff, new stuff, pretty stuff and basically all stuff! I spent tons of time and energy buying old stuff and making it new. I have bought a ton of dishes and platters for tons of holidays and parties I hosted. God forbid that I used the same theme every year and just used the same stuff from the year before. MORE STUFF! For me, this has been a sport! I was a great entertainer and hosted a gazilian events, birthday parties, most of the holidays, a wedding, a funeral and Friday’s night swim parties as the kids grew up. Our home was the Gathering Ranch!  As I type this a little tear is in my eye. Because as I sit on my small new home, my boat, I wonder if I will miss being the “hostess with the mostess” or will I be releaved.

We parted with lots of stuff.  Family and friends hit the lottery as we purged. We sold really nice stuff for pennies on the dollar. We gave a truck load to charity. The kids got a lot and were set up with household things and furniture.  I brought just enough on the boat to host a small group of fellow boaters that we meet along the way.  We have already had some locals over for docktails.  I am looking forward to living with less and actually using the things I have. NO more stuff! When I start getting the urge for a new platter, blouse or decoration,  I will STOP, BREATHE, EVALUATE, and really ask myself do I need it or just want it.  It’s very liberating. And while I write these feelings down I am releasing them.  It was HARD!!!! No joke.  I cried a lot and questioned what I was doing. I was afraid I was making a mistake giving everything away. Now as I sit and reflect on the weeks and weeks of work it took to get here, I am grateful for the experience. I am lighter and freer. Now all I have to do is learn to quiet my mind and be in the moment. This next year will be about living with less. Living with my eyes opens to the world as we travel.  I will embrace the fact that I might not have the latest, greatest, prettiest _____________.  I will learn to appreciate what I do have. TIME on this planet and connection to people. I also want to thank Debbie Northcut for coming to my rescue with a truck. She loaded it up to the max and hauled it away for the the charity thrift store that she runs in Tehachapi.  She took all the stuff that I couldn’t find a home for or sell.  It was A LOT!!!

Thank you Debra!

My word for 2019 is Present. I want to be Present in every moment!

We are waiting for a weather window to head the Bahamas. This next week is not looking so good. So patience. In the mean time we will enjoy all that Fort Lauderdale has to offer.