Toews ‘r Us — a family sailing adventure

Mike has been bugging me to write a post.  I thought it was time as well, I haven’t written one since last September. 

I really didn’t have much to write about until now.  It’s been a pretty quiet winter for the Toews girls.  Marah and Cassidy are doing excellent in school, Calen is nearly two and talking all the time and I have been puttering along making our little winter rental a home.  But alas, the time has come to move back again to our beautiful boat. 

I have procrastinated getting started on some of our sewing projects.   Mike is more confident in my sewing skills than I am.  We have started on our big sewing project, the trampolines for our catamaran.  We have finished one and have started on the other and I have to say, with all humility, I am quite impressed with how it turned out.  Who knew we had it in us?!   I thought we had bitten off more than we could chew with that project but Mike thought differently.   Making them ourselves is a tremendous savings.  I’ve also started mending the sail cover and making hanging bags for Mike’s tools and sailing instrument covers.  I still have to finish the second tramploine, mend and wash the sails, a grill cover for our new grill, and pack  up the winter rental before moving day.  

As much as we have going on, we are all excited about moving aboard Los GATOews.  She is a disaster area right now.  Mike has worked on her all winter with little projects here and there, making improvements.  I’ve helped here and there, whenever he needed a strong back for the job.  There are tools screwn about, dust, dirt and grime but nothing a little cleanser and elbow grease couldn’t fix.  I’m anxious to get started on her and get us moved on.

The excitement is building again and the Toews household is busy, busy , busy. 

We’re back living on land again in our cozy little winter rental in Rye, NH.  The girls are back in school and spending their last warm days riding around the neighborhood in their scooters with friends.  Our landlords are as sweet as can be and my favorite season is upon us.  There is nothing, in my opinion, more scenically beautiful than fall in New England.  I know there are fantastic ocean views of turquoise (Bahamas) and emerald green (Emerald Coast, Sardenia Italy) or amazing water falls (Victoria Falls, S. Africa) or even the majestic Grand Canyon but they still do not compare to the multitude of colors found in a valley of maple trees on a crisp day in New England. 

Mike goes back to where Los GATOews is anchored to visit her regularly.  We’re still looking to have her hauled out for the winter but it’s proving to be quite difficult to have it done locally, as no one can take on our wide beam of 25 feet.  We all visited her yesterday and spent the day sailing.  It was a gorgeous day for sailing, the skies were blue, the air was warm and the seas were calm.   Mike of course sees her every couple of days if not daily.  He misses her the most and is probably the most disappointed about having to post-pone our departure (due to unexpected back surgery).  As excited as I was/am to start our new adventure I am also relieved to have an extra nine months to ease the ties that bind me to New England.

I know that home is where your heart and family are but New England (New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts specifically) has become the place where I became a wife, a daughter-in-law, sister, mother, aunt, and friend.  Having grown up an only child of a hard working  single mom, moving about every six months and attending about 17 schools, I longed for and still do, a small town, a friendly community, a home, where you know most everyone by name and are invested in making it a better place for your children to grow up in.  Maybe it’s a silly dream but it’s mine and one I have had for as long as I can remember.

I told myself at 18 years old that I would never marry a military man because I was tired of moving but that is exactly what I did.  Mike was irresistible.  Having married a military man, who could have been from anywhere, Mike was from Massachusetts and his family lived an hour and a half away from the family I never knew.  My father, a sister, three brothers, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.  My family was spilt in two when I was a year old and my sister two.  I was raised on the West coast and my sister on the East coast.  I have had 15 years to get to know them better and I cherish every moment we’ve had together. 

Massachusetts is also where Mike and I were married.  I gained two sets of the most incredible in laws any daughter in law could ever hope or wish for.  They are loving, kind, thoughtful, generous and so much more and I have had the pleasure of calling them “Mom and Dad” for the last 18 years.  They are also wonderful grandparents. 

New Hampshire is where Mike and I bought our first home, found Christ and had our first two beautiful daughters, Marah and Cassidy. 

Maine is where we started a successful business,  experienced Christ more profoundly through missionary trips to Nicaragua with our church family and had our third beautiful daughter, Calen.  

Fifteen years in New England has also brought special people into our lives that we are blessed to call our friends.  They are the kind of friends that are always there when you need them, are always willing to listen, are thrilled with your successes and support you when your down, are there through the laughter and when some tears have been shed.  When life gets busy, you can call them two months later and pick up where you left off.  They offer a hand, a shoulder, an embrace, themselves and we hope to include them in this new adventure of ours.

So while we await the coming year with much anticipation, I hope to find an adventurous spirit like Mike’s  and leave knowing these ties I’ve always longed for will still be available to me only instead of a phone call, we will reach out by email.

We’re all adapting to life on board pretty well, even our little Calen.

She started out hating the life jacket, but now she seems ok in it.  Her baths are great in the sink.

She does have has some extra problems.  She’s learning to walk on board.  Babies are already unstable, but add some rocking to it and, well, and she almost walks normal.

She’s actually running the place.  Here she is as Captian Calen.

The butterflies have begun. We have found the boat (she’s a beauty), weeding is nearly complete and our moving date is nearly here.

Just took yet another four boxes to Second Generation, a non-profit organization that helps women and children. I found out about them recently and wish I would have sooner. They’re a wonderful group of volunteers who reach out to the community there in Greenland, NH and surrounding towns. I can’t believe how much we have given away and we’ll still do some more before leaving. We are truly blessed. Mike and I have so much to be thankful for.

We have a busy month ahead. Father/daughter dance, field trips, concerts, Marah and Cassidy have less than thirty days of school left and are looking forward to summer. Calen is crawling, pulling herself up and walking around holding onto whatever she can and getting into everything. She’s also cutting her top four teeth. In three days she will be nine months old. Where has the time gone?! More weeding and packing, a trip to our storage pod is in order.

Mike’s back surgery is scheduled for the 31st of May and we’re all a little anxious. Seventeen years ago, six months after we were married, he had his first back surgery and the recovery time was six months. This time around it’s going to be about three months. We also have our boat inspection coming in Annapolis, MD at the beginning or mid June. I will be flying out there and seeing “her” in person for the first time. We’re at the moment having difficulty finding a big enough slip or even a mooring for that matter for a 43 foot catamaran. Mike has called more than 15 marinas in Maine, NH and MA looking for a place to call home for the next six months before we leave. We also have to be moved out of our beach rental by June 12th. Whew!

Still, the excitement builds, the butterflies are fluttering and our conversations are consumed with talk about “her”. What will we name her, how will our life change, places we want to see, and the talk continues.