The last day

Busy day today! Today was one of those days that felt like we weren't getting anything done but in the end we are more prepared than I expected. One more run up the mast for dad to sort out the VHF, work on the toilet, lots of cleaning, loading up and organizing. I had my first bit of time on board by myself this afternoon unpacking some of my things and really feeling like this is my very own space.

Isla felt familiar the first time I stepped aboard, the gentle movement on the water, the smell of dampness, the layout of space... a version of life that is similar in the way that you understand someone's house as soon as you step inside. You know by glancing how to manuever through tight quarters and what it would be like to live aboard this new vessel. Today I started making her my own and embracing that she is mine. It's all been a story so far, walking through the motions of what needs to be done because it is the plan and these are the things needed to make the plan work. Today it felt like action; like life.

Dad and I worked until almost 8:00 and then came home to gather ourselves before going grocery shopping, an exciting and overwhelming task. Planning food for three people without real refridgeration, and only a two burner stove for a possible two week period is interesting. Mum has done lots of cooking for us, making extra of our meals lately so we have some homemade dinners ready for us! Pasta sauce, stew, granola, peacan tassies! Yum! It's amazing how much energy it takes to put a trip like this together... it would be lots of peanut butter and ramen without her cooking!

Tomorrow we will tie up a few loose ends, unpack and organize our food, clean up a bit and be ready to take off! I can't believe the day is here. Once we are out in the ocean I will be excited and ready for it. Tonight I am processing saying goodbye to my favorite people in the world. The people who understand me the most and who have shared the hardest moments of my life. The people who let me be who I am, who have taught me to love through thick and thin, the people who are an extension of myself and support me when I cannot support myself.

The past 18 months have brought lessons that we could never have imagined, hardship and struggle that you can't conceive of until you are in it. But today, this week, this month, we are stronger. I am a better version of myself, forever changed, forever bonded beyond what I thought I understood before December 16, 2008.
My parents still take better care of us than we do ourselves sometimes, and my siblings are part of my soul. They are what makes me whole, what keeps me in check and what reminds me to live, laugh and love. I am amazed by all of them everyday and I feel so blessed to be a part of something so much bigger than myself.

Tomorrow, I will take the next step in my life; which is just that, a step. A journey, an adventure. It is where I am right now, what is happening in this moment; an active choice in my life to follow my heart and see where the wind takes me. I will desperately miss my family, but life will ebb and flow and change and I will change with it, as will they. And we will continue to take life as it comes, one moment at a time. I will live each day with intention, and be grateful. Thank you for following along with this adventurous little life.