SAILING KOKORO

    Well, lets face it, this has taken me more than a weekend, hasn't it? I know I started this journey so sure of my mission, so sure of its importance and, in truth, so sure that people would be interested about my life as it got interesting. Truth is, even when you set off on what could be the adventure of a lifetime, it soon becomes clear that you simply become an adventurer in your everyday life and your adventure simply becomes...everyday life.  I am sitting down to write this and its already creeping up on the end of June, 2022. Its almost a year since we left the Netherlands.  I think it was early July by the time we actually set off down the canals and almost got stuck in a loch. It was exactly a year ago we were meant to leave but got delayed because our hired Skipper got delayed thanks to someone on his flight to Poland testing positive for Covid! So much has happened since that point, one of which is that myself and the kids ended up getting infected wit...

Its been a while since I have had anything new to write about, and so, like an untrained writer, I simply have chosen not to write.  But..! Here we are, in India! So I am going to use our time in home quarantine as a means to an end, I am going to write and try to update you all on everything that has transpired since we got to Sicily and then some.  We've been in Sicily since October, just before Sasha's 10th birthday. It wasn't until around Christmas time that I began to consider visiting my parents in India. The problem with any travel plans in a time of Covid is that its complicated beyond what is necessary and one is left with so many what if queries that its almost too anxiety inducing to make that commitment.  This journey and our commitment to finally taking it has been a real learning experience for us and I think I am no longer going to be fearful about travel in a time of Covid...if there is some place we simply must visit, we will, no matter how ha...

Micah's knee injury healed well. It had taken the better part of three weeks for his knee to fully heal, but its now looking like a big shiny patch of new, pink skin, an island in a sea of brown. For a while there he still behaved like he needed to be handled with kid gloves, constantly asking, "Mama! Have you seen my knee? Is it looking normal? Is this normal? I don't think the scab is on it any more!" I'd respond with something along the lines of eye rolling, exaggerated disinterest so he stops with the knee at some point...or I would take time to look at his new skin with great interest before saying, "Wow, that has healed really well!"  Besides his knee, we have other injuries to contend with. A few weeks ago, I did something clumsy, slipped while walking down the steps into the galley. I felt my big toe slide hard across the edge of the step, followed swiftly by the rest of my foot and then the rest of me...and since these spaces are always so tight...

Today we arrived in The Balearic Islands . After a nearly 22 hour sail from Cartagena, our last port, I am pretty sure we can say we are getting better at this non-stop sailing through day and night thing. I am certain that I am more of a night person because the daytime sunlight hours are simply too hard for me to survive, I don't have the hypothalamus for it! I would never have clocked myself for a night person, because when I worked the restaurant, early rising was the only thing that allowed me to get everything done, and going to bed on time, most times prior to 10pm, was the only thing that kept me sane. I still go to bed around 10pm, but I allow myself an hours grace period in which to truly make a concerted effort to fall asleep. Sleep is important, especially as you age and your hormones fluctuate. You don't want to be on the bad side of sleep because, as I have learned quite recently, every kind of hormonal imbalance gets worse and every kind of inflammation flares u...