I awoke to the sound of small feet pitter-pattering their way toward my bunk. Jill had left an hour earlier for work and I knew who was coming. Soon, Magnus crawled up to port of me and I threw the warm blankets over him as he said, “Good morning, Dad.”
In that moment, I truly felt home — back to the life we love.
The slog of moving our stuff from the rental cabin in the woods back down to the marina is finally over. Actually, it was over a few weeks ago. But we’ve been taking our time getting settled, making new routines and reaquiaintimg ourselves with the space in Yahtzee’s cabin.
While moving all the clothes, toys, tools, books, dishes and food aboard, we’ve found ourselves increasingly happy with the work we completed to the boat’s interior over the winter. The goal of moving off to make Yahtzee better was certainly achieved, and then some.
The two new drawers I crafted in the aft head way back in the late fall have swallowed toiletries and opened up storage in other parts of the boat. And a new system of storage for the boys’ clothes in the the V-berth has opened up space there, too. It’s amazing how taking everything off the boat has allowed us to come back with an eye toward utilizing our space more effectively. And we even devised some creative new storage solutions on the fly during the move-in process — which is always a plus on a 40-foot boat that houses four sailors.
All the nitty gritty of moving aside, my favorite part of returning to Yahtzee has been watching the boys’ overwhelming excitement at being home again. Whether it’s climbing around on deck, taking off for a paddle in the kayak or helping me with projects, they truly haven’t skipped a beat. After all, this is the place they’ve each know since they were hours old. When I asked Porter what his favorite part about being back on the boat was, he turned quiet then said with a glowing smile, “I don’t know, everything, I just love being home.”
That summed it up perfectly. After a winter ashore, we’re all loving being home.
For us, living on Yahtzee and the dream of cruising far-and-wide has never had a time stamp on it. The one year, two year, five year, etc, plan isn’t something we’ve ever thought about. And now, after six years of owning Yahtzee, we know more than ever that this latest chapter in our family adventure is a worthwhile one. This is our life, our dream, and we’ll continue to strive for and live it to the fullest with our feet set in the present and our eyes turned toward the horizon. But we also know that no matter where we are, home is where the boat is.
