I hate writing this blog. In a lot of ways it feels a bit like punishment but Mark really wants us to have a record of what we have done (and no he doesn't want to write it). So I've been thinking about it and trying to figure out why. Why don't I want to write? I think it's because I'm not really much of a sailor. I sail to travel and not the other way around.
I keep trying to write interesting things about sailing and living on a boat but it really isn't all that interesting to me. I don't want to read about provisioning or fixing things just like I don't want to write about it. A lot has changed in the last year for us. We have MM and now another baby boy on the way. Now that MM is over a year old life with him has started to get really interesting and fun.
While we await baby #2 we are enjoying some time on land and all that comes with that...music classes, swim classes, gym classes, playing, and learning, learning, learning! I don't want to turn into another "mommy" blogger but the fact is that I have far more interest in the people that live on our boat than the boat itself. So don't be surprised if this blog starts to have a lot more about how we are raising kids on the boat rather than the boat.I think I'll have a lot more fun writing about how we are educating our kids than how we are baby proofing. Not to say there won't still be some of that but it won't be my focus. Hopefully I'll have more to write and it'll be more interesting if I'm not so focused on the boat and how I organized the damn thing making for much more interesting reading. I'm not really sure what I'm going to write just yet but I'll be working on it and would love to hear what any of our readers have to say about it.
As for where we are now...
Mark has just left the boat for a few months and and is heading home to meet us while we wait out the last 6.5 weeks until baby #2 arrives. I'm so excited he'll be home in just 31 hours! After almost 7 weeks away from him I'm SOOOOO glad he'll be home soon!!!
MM and I have been having lots of fun with Grandma and in all our land-based activities. Right now I'm really trying to figure out the best way to continue these activities when we get back on the boat. When he starts school the basic curriculum will be laid out for me to follow and I'll just add my own stuff as we go but right now it's a little harder. If we were on land I would definitely continue with his music class but is there a really good at home music course I can do with him? I'm looking and trying to figure out how to continue the wonderful program we are currently enrolled in. We are having lots of fun in gym class and playgrounds aren't to hard to find but is there a set of skills we should be working on with him as he grows. They had him simply hang from the bars the other day and do certain flips. Maybe there is some order to what we should be trying to do with him? As for swimming, the water is never that far away but a warm, salt-free, pool for practicing usually is. I'm not much of a swimmer but I want to make sure that MM is. He NEEDS to be. Living on a boat being able to swim is imperative. Far more so than living in a house, even one with a pool.
A lot of these are questions every first time parent has but simply enrolling is a class is so simple compared to finding good at home curriculum to follow or even more so researching and making it up yourself. So if anyone knows anything about good courses to follow PLEASE let me know!
Dana - I totally think you should write about what you know and love! If that's "mommy blogger"-type stuff, go for it! No sense in being miserable writing about things you feel like you SHOULD. Life's too short. :-)
ReplyDeleteYou might enjoy Renee Tougas' blog at http://fimby.tougas.net/. She and her husband are also raising children in a non-traditional environment. She blogs a lot about homeschooling, and also offers webinars and such on the topic. Just an FYI. If nothing else, she posts gorgeous photos!
Glad to know Mark is heading your way. Peace to you these last few weeks before your new baby arrives.
Leigh
Well I would be more than happy to read about how to educate and entertain wee ones on a boat. My husband and I are also into more of the travel aspect, not the sailing. Maybe someday we'll meet up. Plan on heading to Bahamas in August 2013 then keep on heading south.
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Carly
We are in the same boat, so to speak. Stopped cruising for a year to have our first child, and now with plans to head back out I wonder about our blog. It used to be a travel and sailing site, but during our stay here it became more of a baby blog. Our sailing friends most likely want more travel posts and our families probably just look at the pictures of the baby. There are certainly times when I feel like I am writing just because I am expected to. The times I find that I am censoring myself because of certain people reading our blog are the most frustrating, and I usually just delete those posts. Write for yourself, your readers will find you. We are half a world away in an environment as different from Australia as possible, and yet I found your blog and will continue to check in.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the other commenters, write about what interests you and what would you want to read about later years from now. I wouldn't be surprised that there are other people trying to figure out how to cruise with little children, and your slice of life will help give them an idea of it works for you. I also am reevaluating ow I what I want to say on our new blog as we get ready to go out cruising this July for our 2nd trip to the Bahamas and probably south.
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