It's raining. Seems as if it is almost always raining these days - either the rain is developing or it's clearing. Hovering over us ready to reappear even if it disappears for a short time!
I'm kind of glad that we aren't trying to go somewhere - it would be so frustrating to be waiting, not just for a sunny day - as if that's what we needed to sail! - but for a weather pattern that would give us suitable wind.
Peter asked me the other day if we can still call ourselves 'sailors' if we are in port for a while. We laughed then - not so much at the question as at the feeling of waiting and wondering we are experiencing.
The thing is we'd love to be heading off, exploring more of the coastline, more places, more towns, meeting more people, having more fun, but right now we need to be here!
A significant job (ie one that pays proper money) that I applied for shortly after we arrived and that I heard nothing about for ages, has come back onto my horizon. This is a job that I have the skills to do, the desire to do and the experience to do well. Yesterday I had a meeting about it that lasted more than two hours and later in the week there will be more talk. The more talk there is the more interested I am and the stronger my sense becomes that this is what we've been waiting in Batemans Bay for!
Much as we'd like to keep going, we really need some dollars in the bank first and with this possibility appearing again we are hopeful that this might be the answer. Of course it will mean we will stay somewhat longer but there are so many advantages in this for us. We are loving the community we have already become part of, loving the relationships we have been developing. (The photo above is of a picnic we went to recently with old and some new friends made since arriving here!) We feel part of something here that helps us to feel that right now at least, this is where we are supposed to be. Plus the opportunity to spend time with our family is a delight I could write a whole blog about!
To manage our desire to continue sailing we will most likely head off for a weekend or two somewhere around about, possibly taking people with us who have expressed an interest in sailing, have some fun days both exploring as well as giving others a taste of what this amazing life is like.
I begin to understand that sailing is not just about when we are out there, it's something that was planted in our hearts that first day we set off for Newcastle and Lake Macquarie and began looking or a yacht to buy and learn to sail. We've come an extremely long way since then, that seed that was planted that day has been watered by the waves, nurtured by the wind and the elements and grown into something that will always be a part of us now.
Yes, I believe we became sailors!