Adjusting to life on land

We've been home four days now and are gradually getting our land legs back, both literally and figuratively.

Our first day or two, I kept wanting to secure things around the house so they wouldn't go flying. I kept looking at the boat docked behind the house, wondering why it looked so strange; it finally occurred to me that we have one home parked in the backyard of our other home. We're getting used to having "luxuries," like a dishwasher, TV, radio, laundry facilities, a roomy shower, a king-sized bed, and as much internet access as we want. We're getting used to being more than 30' away from each other. It feels good to be back on land, back to our "normal" life.

I was looking forward to being able to sleep later than 6 a.m., but ironically I've been up before Wayne every day except one, wide awake at 5:00 or 6:00.

We've had fun talking to and getting together with friends, but there's also been a lot of work to do. Besides the usual stuff involved in opening up the house after being gone for six months, we've had boat stuff: unloading it and trying to find room in my kitchen for extra food and duplicate containers of everything in the frig. I'm still working on that and expect to make a run to the local food shelf once I get organized.

Wayne spent most of yesterday cleaning the outside of the boat - there was already oxidation from the salty air and water - and I'll take care of the inside...when I get around to it.

After we finish the boat stuff, it will be time to prepare for Thanksgiving, which we will celebrate November 24th, the Saturday after. Michael and Amy are flying down on Thanksgiving, and our moms, Suzanne, Brian, and Alex will arrive on Friday; they'll be here for five days. We're so excited about having some quality time with family. It seems much longer than four months ago since we saw them.

Yesterday we made reservations to fly home to Minnesota on December 5; we'll be there for about a month and will drive back down to Florida in January.