A Happy Face!

  

Recently I received a private message on our Facebook page from one of followers.  She asked how I continue to remain so upbeat and positive after such a long struggle towards our cruising plans.  My answer ... we get frustrated and depressed sometimes, but try to keep positive online.  (While misery loves company, we want to inspire folks who are struggling like us ... not cause them to get depressed and throw in the towel).

I told her that we sometimes get downright fed up with everything and feel like we'll never live on our sailboat.  We curse, we lie awake at night, and we constantly run our plans through our head ... wondering if we can do something differently that will allow us to get out there sooner than later.  We always come up with the same conclusion ... we're doing the best we can.

Our house is for sale at a very fair price and for as little as we can afford to sell it for.  We've left just enough room for a little bit of negotiation, knowing that human nature prevents selling just about anything at full price.  We rarely buy clothes, never go to the spa, have a friend come to our house to cut our hair, have no movie channels on the television, have no car notes, only go out for a drink during "happy hour", bring a cold sandwich to work everyday, only go to the movie theater about once a year ... you get the picture.  As I mentioned in "Everything Is Broken" ... it's tough to balance managing our businesses & our home with preparing for cruising.  A good business needs re-investment and a good home needs maintenance.  We've been putting some things off ... but for how long can we get away with it?  Some of our business stuff is on its last leg, and our refrigerator, washer & dryer at home are too.

I admit that we sometimes look at other cruisers with envy, wondering why their transition was so much easier than ours has been.  There are those that sold their homes almost immediately!  We've been frugal all of our lives, have worked hard since high school, have always been responsible, and have never been frivolous with our money.  We deserve a break, right?!  As I've written over a year ago, there is an emotional toll of reaching a goal.  We have our pity party every now and then, but you know ... it doesn't help matters.

No, we're not perfect.  We don't always keep a smile on our face.  But, we know that a bad attitude can only bring negative, while a good attitude will make things easier.  We know that there are others out there that share our same dream, and have their own struggles.  Hopefully, our posts will help them hang in there with us ... and their own dreams.

So, when we get overwhelmed we try to remind ourselves that we at least have a goal and a light at the end of the tunnel.  We know that with the exception of a tragedy (fingers crossed), our situation isn't permanent and we will be on that damn boat.  Good things don't always come easy ... or quickly!  Plus, our landlubber life isn't all bad.  As I mentioned before, the next few months will bring us Mardi Gras, our daughter's wedding, and her college graduation as well.

Visualizing ourselves sailing through the gorgeous blue waters of the Bahamas keeps us going ... not to mention the supportive comments of our readers.  While I don't get a chance to respond to all of your comments, I love reading them and they lift my spirits.  Please keep them coming, 'cause we really appreciate it.  It's gonna be one helluva Bon Voyage party!

Hasta luego ... until then.  Mid-Life Cruising!