How easy it is to say “When I retire on August 1, I will get on my boat and sail into the sunrise.” Certainly, that’s pretty much how we took off to the Bahamas in 2007-2008-we just got on the boat when we planned and left. Of course, this was a vacation and we intended to come back. We could resume taking care of the house and stuff and business. This time was different—the dream to cast off from “the grid”, we found, has many strings attached. So August and September passed, as we examined every scrap of paper, every piece of memorabilia, 1000s of magazines and books, the accumulation of 60 years of living, 22 in the same house. We had to make a decision about each item—store, take with, toss. It was amazing how much JUNK and trash there was. There must be a special Plaia section in the landfill. However, Mrs. Raley, I want you to know, that I DID NOT throw away my 10th grade world lit notebook (I still believe that you would haunt us if we did, as you threatened; and you possibly could be at a point in your existence now where haunting is possible). Then there was the house—Over 22 years we had maintained it but there were also many things that were out of sight-out of mind or just not a priority. Around the first of October we were finally ready to move onto the boat but--- one more thing—A water pump for the boat was being delivered and it took nearly another week for that to happen. So finally, October 5, I said good-by to an empty house, devoid of our life in it, packed the cat in my Mustang and made the move. –to utter chaos. The normal chaos of moving plus the sails were still inside-we had taken them in before Irene hit. There was nowhere to sit or put anything. I was exhausted and grumpy but glad to have crossed that threshold. Every morning I wake up to sunrise over the water. There are also some spectacular sunsets here.
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