I am very grateful that we chose to purchase the iridium phone and bank those upfront dollars. With me home being Naples to their Andiamo, I so look forward to that once-a-day 5pm check-in call. At a minimum I know their location, I know that they are safe and, despite the daily routine challenges that come with offshore life, they are happy.......

...And yet, it is never enough. It seems that invariably, these expensive, hurried moments get squandered on home-maintenance tutorials (how do I change that teeny, tiny G4 LED bulb in our display cabinet?) or logistical minutia (hey mom, is there anymore almond butter onboard?). So after expectantly awaiting that 5pm ring, phone in hand, list of things to share/ask by my side, it evaporates in a flash and I sit here in this strange space between being a part of this trip and being a housekeeper.

Enter the wonder of SailMail. With Andiamo afloat sans internet, this slow radio-wave service has become the mainstay of our communication. I am told that her operation can be a bit frustrating at the crew's end as they might have to patiently seek out various signals for a single transmission, but from my comfy desktop SailMail has proven remarkably reliable and gratefully welcomed. Never a particularly "wired" person, I now find myself checking email several times a day for news from WDF7..1@sailmail.com, our SSB call sign. And, unlike our concise iridium conversations, this free service (after the initial equipment investment and nominal membership fee) allows me to type to my heart's content (well, up to two text pages). Multiple times a day I dash off a quick sound-bite SailMail - as if a cell phone text - to disclose a quirky tidbit (yikes, snake encounter in the lanai furniture today!) or to a make a simple request (pretty please, would you try to maintain the provisioning list?) or to share a significant moment (Nelson Mandela died). Reciprocally, I am often called on by Andiamo to serve as their land-based internet liaison, cutting & pasting requested web information in a format condensed enough for SailMail reception: details for clearing into the Caymans on a weekend or the CDC's compilation on ciguatera poisoning, for instance. I gladly take on this secretarial role as it is a tangible way for me to participate in this surreal journey that has thus far landed me at home while my husband and son have covered 1300 nm.

Indeed, Sailmail in its unexpected way, has become the steadfast antidote for the long-distance, parallel existence - the "andiamonaples" duality - that has become our lives over these past 5 plus weeks. Sure the brief iridium contact is invaluable, but it has been these frequent daily SailMail communications that have truly bridged the gap (gape) left behind when a spouse of 32 years is not by your side. Especially coveted, beyond the bevy of short informational emails exchanged, at intermittent times - particularly in the first morning hours - I open a loving, expressive note from my husband that takes my breath away. Forced as we are by economy and necessity to rely on the age-old practice of letter-writing, we have found a safe space to write what might otherwise go unexpressed aloud. As I read along I hear his frustrations, and emotions and longings. I sense his disappointments and I recognize his victories. In the quiet space between keystrokes, as I too commit to the weight of the written word, I take the time to dig deep and find the words to share my day with him in a way that only a mate could ever appreciate, or would ever care to know. With candor, he writes back, sharing his vulnerabilities and telling me these words are for my eyes only..... Of course they are....and my heart.

So after five plus difficult weeks and 1300 miles between us, I consider that, yes, for sure, no doubt, my life as a doctor's wife was more cushy; but I have to say this new life as a sailor's wife holds the promise of being more romantic, more soulful and even through long separations, more connected. With four days left before the crew returns home, I look forward to an amazing holiday reunion!

Merry Christmas to all.