There is some serious potential for major life changes for us in the next few weeks, and there were a few life changes that happened in the last week that were also very major. First, and perhaps most importantly, Cord, our youngest, verbalized a huge breakthrough in attitude and I can't stop reeling from it. Second, Halloween happened a million miles away from home and we all survived swimmingly. And finally, we may just have a lead on a boat for us!
First things first. After spending a couple more days at the Gulf State Park where we were thoroughly spoiled (with amenities including: tennis courts, giant laundry rooms, full hook-ups, expansive swimming pool with adjoining splash pad park, etc.), we cruised down the road a couple hours and spent a couple nights at Grayton Beach State Park. Unfortunately, this is where my back decided to check out for a couple days, so I was laid up with an ice pack and Jason did all the heavy lifting with the boys and RV. Jason took the boys to the beach a couple times. The waves there were wild and unruly, so the double-red flag warning was raised and no swimming happened while we were there. The sand was still the gorgeous white that we have become accustomed to down here, and the boys were quite content digging and piling sand.
After Grayton Beach, we moved down the Florida coastline and have settled into where we are now: Carrabelle Beach Resort. Jason is exhausted from the constant driving he's been doing for the last couple of months with the RV, only stopping for a day or two before moving on again, so we are here for a FULL WEEK! And this place is awesome. Fully paved roads and parking sites. Our site just happens to back up right next to the playground, pool, and laundry services. Winning! This Resort is also right across the street from the St. George Sound. The water's edge is so calm here that the water is
barely lapping up on shore. While Jason and I walk the beach, the boys jump in and out of the warm water. There were even a couple dolphins that made it in close to shore and were circling around, showing off for us. Even after we become full-time liveaboard sailors, I don't think we'll ever get tired of seeing dolphins. On one of our trips back from the beach was when Cord blew my mind and casually offered his latest thoughts. If you've had the pleasure of meeting and knowing Cord, you know how much that kid loves to talk. I'm fairly certain he begins sentences without knowing where they will end - or if they will end. He talks to you, around you, over you, or through you. If he's awake, Cord's mouth is moving. He narrates his life as he lives it, "Hmm, I
think red shorts today, no maybe the black. I do like black. I like ninjas. If I was a ninja no one would even know I was there. Oh, camouflage! That's what I should wear today. I think my tummy might be saying I need to eat something. Do you think ninjas eat, Mom?" And. It. Never. Stops. So when we were walking back from the beach, and Cord casually says, "You want to know something, Mom?" I was expecting another fact about a bug, or another place he found sand on his body, or his latest favorite color. Cord stopped me dead in my tracks when he followed up with, "When you said we were going to live in the RV, I hated it and never wanted to do it. But now that we are, I think this is a pretty good life, Mom." Gushing. My heart is gushing. Cord has been head-strong and adamant from Day 1 that he DID NOT want to leave our home. He did not want to travel, or homeschool, or leave family and friends. I exhaled a weighty breath full of worries, doubts, and sadness after hearing his confession that maybe this isn't so terrible, and perhaps, Mom and Dad just might be doing something right with these boys. I'm going to remember those sweet words from my baby boy and keep them on repeat for as long as my record player will play. Probably put a couple extra ticks on the volume for the days where whining, complaining, and fighting make this life particularly frustrating.
Halloween also came and went during our stay here in Carrabelle. Not going to lie, I was very worried about how the boys would handle being away from their status quo during a holiday. Thankfully, each of them remained positive and resilient to the knowledge of not being able to go trick-or-treating or to the friends' costume parties. Jason surprised the boys on the way to this Resort with a stop at the
Spirit Halloween costume supply store. Cord immediately found his costume and tucked it under his arm. Bear took some more time. He knew what he wanted, but instead of buying the complete costume, he pieced it together with a random hat from here, a staff accessory from over there, and since his character is bald in the show, Barrett also picked up a bald cap for his head. The cap didn't fit well, but he was so proud of his ingenious ability to put together his look and I'm not going to rain on that parade. Though a few private laughs may have slipped when seeing him walk around the RV with an ill-fitting bald cap on his head. I adored his courage and confidence. Ryan is at a tough age between wanting to be a man and treated as such with independence and respect, but he also still wants the kids' menu and crayons when we go to a restaurant. I could see the internal struggle he was having as we walked through the costume store. He wanted to find a costume, he wanted to dress up like his brothers and play around and pretend. But he is a teenager, and he also wanted to keep cool and shrugged off multiple costume ideas I threw at him. Last month, Ryan had mentioned he could dress up as a tourist because that's a costume that we could create within the RV and wouldn't have to find additional room to store it anywhere (clearly, storage is something I am repeatedly bringing up around the boys). I offered up that idea again while we were in Spirit Halloween and he conceded to being a tourist. Then we saw the face paint. I said, "Oooorrrrr... you could be a SKELETON tourist and let me paint your face!" To my astonishment, he agreed! We ended up with a skeleton tourist, and Zuko and Aang from the anime show 'Avatar' for Halloween 2021.
Jason and I didn't feel right taking the boys trick-or-treating since we had no idea where good neighborhoods were or what the locals' traditions were. We did end up going to a Halloween "Walk in the Park", but got the time wrong and instead of getting there 10 minutes early, we were there 10 minutes before shut down. However, the confusion worked to the boys' advantage because the two booths that were still there had an abundance of candy they needed to get rid of, and here came three boys with completely empty candy bags. We were only there for 10 minutes, but the boys were able to meet a couple kids and play, and they also brought home about eight pounds of candy. There was also a 'Trunk-or-Treat' that the local community center did that we attended. Though the trunks weren't decorated like we've seen back home with elaborate themes, and it was simply made up of about 15 very kind people sitting on the backs of their cars with candy bowls, the boys were again able to see other kids in costumes and partake in Halloween. On our way home from the festivities I asked the boys how their Halloween went. I knew it was different and not exactly what they were used to back home, but I felt like Jason really went out of his way trying to find these events so the boys can have a small sense of normalcy on our first holiday away from home and with limited resources. In unison, the boys said, "really good!". They went on to say that it was not what they were expecting, but they got a ton of candy and it was still cool to be able to dress up and go out somewhere.
Now Halloween is over, and we still have four more days here in Carrabelle, Florida. We are getting into the groove of being able to truly settle in somewhere for an extended time and relax more. Jason is burned-out on driving, and this long stay will give him a fresh start for our next leg of the journey. Our tentative plans after this Saturday is to keep heading down south on the eastern Florida coast. Or that plan might change, and we could take a turn inland where we would be closer to an airport. We're
thinking closer to an airport because we have a really great lead on a catamaran to buy!! The boat is a 2012 Lagoon 45, currently located in Panama, but owned by an Italian couple. If we're close to an airport, then the boys and I can stay with the RV (and pets) here in Florida, and Jason can fly out to Panama and walk on the boat when the time is right. Jason has been messaging with the owners of the boat, getting specifications, pictures, and requesting video walk-throughs of the systems. Husband is with the boat, and wife is elsewhere managing the messages - this makes for a slow conversation. We have been told and have read over and over again that buying a boat is a long process. A process with lots of ups and downs, disappointments and surprises. It's hard not to get excited about this boat. It has the space, sailing and living capability that we are looking for in our catamaran. Our criteria for a boat are hard to find, especially within our budget and not currently overseas in Europe. With this opportunity comes a lot of other questions and details to be sorted through and ironed out as well. But for now, we're going to take it one day at a time, enjoy our chance to relax in one place for a full week, and be open to any opportunities as they come.
So here's to optimistic attitude adjustments, creating new holiday traditions, and hoping for triumph in a process known for disappointment.
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