You can take it with you!

When Ken and I decided to give living on the boat a try and began packing up the house in the middle of the busiest time of year for me, I just about thought I was going to lose my mind.  Still raw from my mother’s sudden passing, and preparing for graduation and a number of end-of-year school activities, I was in no state to realistically weed out those things I was willing to let go.  For a couple of people who lean in the direction of “minimalist,” we had accumulated a surprising amount of stuff during our 7 years in Connecticut.  My first pass at paring down was pretty ridiculous – even by my own generous standards - and Ken quickly stepped in to establish boundaries around how much we could keep.  Eventually, I convinced him that there simply wasn’t enough time for me to sort through everything and we agreed to leave some boxes in the attic to go through later.  Nonetheless, the mountain of things we sold and gave away was substantial.  Whatever they meant to us at one time, in the end, those “things” seemed more burden than asset. 

Once I got into the spirit of downsizing and made several more passes through our belongings, I began to feel the sense of freedom that comes with being unfettered.  For a gypsy like me (or nomad, as Peter calls it), it’s all about anchoring oneself to the earth with gossamer strings and being able to pack up and go at any time.   While I still occasionally have moments in the middle of the night where I wake up thinking “what have we done?!!” I know that we have taken the most important things with us:  the love of our family and friends, connections and relationships that have enriched our lives along the way, and dreams of experiences we have yet to share together.   Across the miles and over the years, we will carry those we love close to our hearts – and that is our most precious cargo.