Hello out there! Is anybody reading me?? I’ve been wanting to set up a personal blog for some time but have been a bit intimidated by the technology aspects. But I am blessed with 2 techno-savvy sons and have decided to become bold and courageous (with their help!). So here I am, hoping that someone will enjoy reading what I write . . .

At every stage of life, it’s good to learn new things, but as you get older it becomes more and more important to update so that you don’t become irrelevant. We lived at the coast a few years back. My husband Michael has always loved to fish but the only boat he had ever owned was a little aluminum johnboat. Then a VERY nice person gave him a 21 foot Boston Whaler with a cuddy cabin. We were EXCITED!

Michael took the Coast Guard course and learned all about water safety, at least in theory. He did so well on the test that they invited him to join the auxiliary, not knowing that he had never set foot on a boat that had a motor. Having qualified ourselves with the Coast Guard, we bought a boat trailer and towed our new boat home. We stayed up half the night memorizing the steps for putting a boat in the water, but, of course,  the reality is much different from the book. . .

Michael backed the trailered boat down the ramp.Then, as I slipped behind the wheel of the car, Michael climbed on the still trailered boat. When I backed down the ramp  just a bit further, sure enough the boat began to float off the trailer, just like the book said it would. I drove the car and trailer back into the parking lot while Michael and the boat floated into the small harbor where we had a boat slip. As I ran back down to the harbor I noticed that Michael and the boat were dangerously close to the other boats sitting in their slips. I watched as Michael started the engine and the boat moved even closer to the docked boats. Then I heard Michael shout, “There’re no brakes on this thing!” In less time than it takes to tell it, boat owners appeared out of nowhere, stationing themselves on the ends of their boats nearest Michael with boat hooks handy. One brave soul was able to grab a rope dangling from our boat and pull it close enough to join Michael on the “Sister Glorious”. A wise man and good neighbor, he coached Michael through maneuvering our boat safely into our slip, standing beside him at the helm but letting Michael handle the boat.

Thank God this is not us!! But you see what COULD have happened!

We were so proud! Our first boating experience had been pretty scary, but I thought Michael was the bravest man I had ever known to conquer such a feat! We were back out early the next morning, and the next, and the next,  learning something new about boating every day and enjoying every minute of it. Most of all we enjoyed learning something totally new and the surge of confidence that gave to other areas of our lives as well.

I don’t know that blogging will require the same kind of courage that boating did, but the learning curve for me seems about the same. Learning something new will be good for me, and, hopefully, others will enjoy what I share. In fact, now that I am at the end of my first piece, I do feel rather proud of myself. An inaugural bottle of champagne might even be appropriate. . .