Dec. 27

After a very busy Christmas week spent celebrating with our large family we finally left our home late in the afternoon with our boat tied on the top and our gear crammed in the back of our Honda Odyssey van.  At a windy 5 degrees above zero any attempt to organize the packing was severely limited. After stops to say goodbye to two of our children who live nearby and tie up some loose ends with one of Heather's colleagues at Plymouth State University, we headed south.  Already tired, we did not get very far but had made that important separation from our way of life at home to our next month or so of being "on the water".  My longing to get back to this life for the third year in a row was energized by the commitment of making it out of state and over a hundred miles toward our starting point in Charleston, SC before pulling into a cheap hotel. We were on the way!

Our daughter Amy seemed to anticipate that we had not eaten all day while packing and readying our house for our house sitter. The table was set for us when we pulled in to say goodbye!  I sense the day coming when our children are accepting the role of caring for their parents as we used to care for them. I could sense that her sending us off on our trip well fed seemed like something I had done for my children at times.