Life After Windbird, Day 76: Big Emotional Hurdle

Life After Windbird, Day 76: Big Emotional Hurdle
Date: Thursday, October 27, 2016
Weather: Overcast and Rainy; High 52, Low 46 degrees F
Location: At Home at the Studio, Falmouth, MA

Today Mark and I would have celebrated our 42nd wedding anniversary so the entire day was one big emotional hurtle for me. I got four calls from different family members and missed them all which is probably best. Just the thought of talking to anyone today made me cry. I went to the gym early for the Butts and Guts exercise class (missed two calls), came home and took a shower over one of my computers remotely and worked on a few issues with me and that took almost two hours. Finally, we had to end our session as I had to pick Sam and Jonah up from school and Justin had a business call coming in. I think we could do this every day for a week and still not get through all the issues. But I must wade through a lot of this on my own. Thankfully I also have Heather and Jed with which to bounce around issues and we did some of that tonight after dinner. I picked up Sam and Jonah after school and then was invited to stay for dinner. We had delicious cod and kale and it was so much fun to just be with the three boys that can keep you laughing, no matter what. So I made it through this day with lots of support from family. Even though I missed all of the calls, I knew that people were there for me. And Justin and Jo and Heather and Jed were all there for me. I’m very lucky to have such a supportive family.

I did reflect on the past 42 years today and remembered some of the best anniversaries through the years. Actually, Mark and I basically ignored anniversaries until sometime in the 1990’s. When Heather was in college in Australia, Mark used the excuse of our anniversary to take me out to dinner and surprise me with airline tickets to Australia. We had a wonderful visit with Heather, chartered a sailboat, and spent seven days in the Whitsunday Islands. Then on our 30th anniversary, Mark gave me stainless steel cowl vents for Windbird. I wanted those stainless vents (rather than the rubber ones) so badly, but each vent cost over $300. There was no way we could afford them. So when Mark surprised me with that gift, I was absolutely ecstatic. In 2006, our 32nd anniversary, we were in Tonga and visited the blow holes that stretch over 10 miles along the coast. It was one of the most incredible sights we saw anywhere around the world. The next biggie I remember was while we were in Singapore. Some of our closest cruising friends met us at Raffles, the home of the Singapore Sling, and we all paid the exorbitant price of $28 US to have a Singapore Sling in honor our 34th anniversary.

The next year we were having a beer at LAX waiting for a midnight flight back to Malaysia—a lot cheaper than a Singapore Sling in Singapore. But a very, very special anniversary was in 2012 when Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco were visiting us in Woods Hole. Having Justin and Jo and Heather and Jed, plus all five grandchildren with us was a very special way to celebrate number 38. We celebrated our 40th anniversary at my sister Patsy’s house in North Carolina. We had just arrived after our sail from Cape Cod to Little River in South Carolina. Mark gave me yellow roses—my very favorite. Early this morning I refused to even think of the past, but I am glad that I worked my way through the day and took time to remember. Thank you for allowing me to share those memories with you.