All morning I have been thinking about everything I am looking forward to about living on a boat, and also everything I fear about living on a boat. These are very random.
- I look forward to being without a schedule, but I fear that it will actually drive me crazy.
- I look forward to going with the flow… staying where we like for as long as we like, but I fear being stuck in a place we don’t like or feel is unsafe.
- I look forward to experiencing new cultures and “living off the land”, but I fear that we will run out of food.
- I look forward to simplifying our life, but fear that I will go stir crazy.
- I look forward to everything being different, but fear that everything will be the same…i.e. kids will still whine (now with less toys).
- I look forward to spending more time with my family, but fear I will be annoyed by too much time together (or actually, that they will be annoyed with me.)
- I look forward to seeing the world, but fear that we will get lost at sea.
- I look forward to meeting other cruising families and making new friends, but I fear that my kids will miss their classmates.
- I look forward to the good adventures, but I fear the bad ones.
- But I think my biggest fear is: What if I hate it and Matt loves it, then what?
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What a thought-provoking post. Having been there and done that twice now, let me give my 1/2 of 2 cents.
1. It will, but there will be amazing ways of releasing that stress.
2. You won’t. The boat is a constant reminder of the freedom to go when and where you want. You will be surrounded by this at all times.
3. You have to get pretty far off the beaten path to avoid Costco. People and there food have crept into the farthest nooks and crannies on this planet.
4. You will. This will be the greatest challenge.
5. They will in the beginning, but when they learn to see the world as their playground, they’ll stop.
6. You won’t. They will become the best source of entertainment.
7. You won’t. It is getting pretty difficult to get lost these days if you have a well-found boat.
8. They won’t.
9. The bad will sometimes happen, but later, they will hold the most powerful and life-changing lessons. Also, the worst is never as bad as you can imagine it.
10. It very well may happen, and there is no way to predict it right now. But you can take preventative steps:
1. Commit today to not committing. Agree that either of you can pull the eject handle at any time. Have a fallback plan. I assure you that simply having one will guarantee you won’t use it. Remembering each day when you wake in good conditions or in bad that this is a CHOICE changes absolutely everything.
2. An even better idea is to plan a break in the first year. Put it in your budget, but don’t buy tickets. If and when either of you need to punch out and re-evaluate, there will be no need for discussion and a “I’m outta here” declaration, you simply do it. You may very well go back and remember all the reasons you decided to leave in the first place.
3. Keep being honest with yourself and each other. Writing them down as you have on this blog is very powerful.
4. Expect to have second thoughts about embarking on this crazy adventure. Those second thoughts will come and go for months, usually in the bad times. Somehow, expecting them takes away most of their power.
I wish you the best,
Nick