Lately I've been blogging, or rather ranting, about a myriad of things that are on my mind. Unfortunately, they've been neither particularly interesting, or compelling. I'm onto something new. Something that I hope will become a sort of occasional series.
The birth of my daughter Quinn has really gotten me thinking hard about the type of life I want to live. A life with purpose, that reflects my values, and that might be, at least interesting, maybe even inspiring to my child. The most appealing approach seems to involve boats. I'm thinking living aboard a sail boat, but I'm not sure a trailer sailor behind a camper is out. Boats (the ones I can afford anyway) have always represented a critical requirement that I think is characteristic of any examined life. They are a finite space. To live on one, or even simply voyage for any period of time, you have to decide exactly what you need and leave the rest behind. This seems like a great rule by which to live. Also, you can be a total dirt bag on a boat, and no one thumbs their nose at you. In fact they think you are rich. So, unlike living out of a van, the boat option will probably not get me turned over to child protective services.
Not knowing exactly what the goal is, Deanna and I have decided that an incremental approach will be best. Our goal is to make a leap of some sort when Quinn is three. So, we are saving, planning, and practicing. The occasional series on 'Shy Drunk' will focus mainly the planning and the practicing.
Quinn is nine weeks old, and she took her first trip on the high seas in week eight. She was born 2/10/2010, and by 4/11/2010, she was on the water. She pretty much hated it. Well she slept and cried. The fact that she slept some of the time tells me she was loving that portion of the voyage. Also, she cries at the doctor's office, but that's necessary so, I'm going with that line of reasoning.
Deanna and I purchased a pretty sweet little plywood boat in January--we'd been discussing these issues for some time. I spent the spring repairing, and modifying things to make them more infant friendly. I've still got a couple more items to paint, build, and adjust, but the Quinn Anne's Revenge is sailing on weekends. She has a new suit of sails, I'm working on a cabin and cockpit sole, and fine tuning the rigging.
So who knows, maybe living better means something as simple as spending more time with my wife and daughter doing something we can all enjoy together. Or maybe, by age three, we will head out, with the Quinn Anne's Revenge behind my truck, or on something thirty plus feet with no trailer involved.
In any case, it feels nice to have a goal, even if it's still taking shape.
No comments:
Post a Comment