Trade-Offs
Pure Joy is (finally) in The Canary Islands. (While part of Spain, the islands are just off the north-western coast of Africa.) David is there with our trusty crew (in-depth profiles coming soon, I promise!) continuing the work of getting Pure Joy ready for an epic voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. Elliot and I will join them in 10 days.
The fact that she - WE - are in this position where there is every reason to believe that we will be ready set sail with The ARC on November 19th feels surreal and all too real at the same time. As we inch closer to the start line, the trade-offs we’re making to make this dream possible feel more tangible than ever.
To be clear - we know people who have sold everything they own in order to make dreams similar to ours come true - and that is categorically not us. Also, I can’t share what I’m about to write without mentioning that the sacrifices we are making fade into complete insignificance when considering some of the suffering that is going on in the world at the moment.
And. There are trade-offs for us to make in order for this dream, this adventure, to become a reality. Financial for sure, but harder are those involving the most precious resource of all, our time. Because as it turns out, it’s finite and you cannot be in two places at once.
Which means that while David is on the island of Fuerteventura this evening, he will not be trick-or-treating with us later today.
It means that while we are in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean in early December, Elliot will not be at his school Christmas concert - even though everyone will be dressing up as Christmas puddings AND there will be a snow machine. (Which you have to admit - DOES sound like quite a lot of fun.)
It means saying goodbye to friends and family for long periods of time.
It means that because we will be spending so much of next year and then ALL of 2025 on a boat, that we won’t be home often enough to take care of our cute-beyond-words Cavapoochon and emotional support mascot, Chica. So, it means making the hard decision to a find permanent new home for her.* She leaves us later this week. (This one is the hardest. 😭)
*No need to cry for Chica. She is going to be living her 🦴best🎾 life in Sweden, with the a woman we know and trust and who loves her to the ends of the earth. That being said, more than a few tears are being shed on our end, as our chapter with her comes to a close. 😓
All of these decisions are the right choices for us. And they are hard. Those hardships (if you can call them that) are the trade-offs we make in exchange for pursuing a dream, for prioritising adventure - at least for a little while.
Something tells me that on the whole, these trade-offs will make the experience that much sweeter in the end. But right now, they just just feel kinda hard.