HOLIDAYS – What they ARE and Aren’t

The month of November yielded little time for forays to Port Townsend and the surroundings.

A boatload of repairs and improvements were scribbled on the frost morning and evening. December turned even chillier and the holidays loomed large.

Winter Solstice, which provided the original party planners with the Christmas idea arrived with lights and snowy decks and docks. The normal rounds of friends, family and parties were far away. Dropping that almost inescapable tradition overboard was a dualistic exercise.

There was a raft of missings from people to well known events. Diving ducks, loons, fresh locally harvested oysters, crab, wild salmon and halibut served as local replacement. It contrasted with warm fires, hanging out at friends homes, gatherings of relatives.

The appreciation for both while avoiding the trap of comparison was the exercise of daily practice that began with making coffee in a not yet warm galley and ended only when surrendering to the reality of dreams.

We had planned to have the boat buttoned up and to celebrate Christmas in Mexico. Instead we celebrated New Years with new snow and a new dock mascot- a seal who liked to bump the hull in the night and splash loudly.

There is a well known book titled, “What’s Wrong with Right Now – Unless You Think About It ?" by "Sailor" Bob Adamson.

We chose to experience the newness and the now. It created some very different outcomes in short order.