It is now almost two months since we lost Bill and I miss him every day. Most of the time I am OK but then I remember why I am doing something alone and I get very teary eyed. It’s amazing how busy I have been, I’m certainly not bored yet.

The memorial service we had for Bill was exactly what I wanted and I’m sure he would have wanted too, even though we never did get a chance to discuss it. There were about 150 people there. There were people from all through our life and I am very grateful to everyone that made the effort to come, especially those from so far away. I had “family” and extended family to the house afterwards and I was surprised that that was 51 people! It was good closure for me and the whole experience was not a bad one.

So now I am working on getting rid of the things that were part of my life with Bill but won’t be a part of my life without Bill. I’ve gotten reacquainted with EBay and Craig’s List. I hadn’t touched either of those services since I was working on getting rid of the things in the house we didn’t want any more when we moved on the boat. So far I’ve been pretty successful. I try to get rid of a couple of things each week, starting with the higher ticket items. One of the things that surprised me is that I assumed I would continue getting Bill’s Social Security checks. Turns out that I can’t get them until I turn 60 – which is this year – but not for quite a few more months. Oh well – that just makes the EBay and Craig’s List sales that much more important.

Of course the highest ticket item I have to sell is the boat. People said don’t change anything for the first year – maybe you will want to keep something you have decided to sell. Well, I know for sure, I will not want to keep the boat. Bill wanted me to, but he knew I wouldn’t. I couldn’t even begin to take care of it, or use it by myself. So I have found a broker, the same one we bought the boat from eleven years ago, and have listed the boat for sale. See the picture above. Here is the sales information Boat For Sale . Share it with all your sailing friends!! I have posted it on some sailing related Facebook pages that I have access to. I’ve talked to some people who are interested in it, but can’t afford it. Hopefully the right person will find it and fall in love with it. It actually makes me sick to my stomach when I think about the price I have to sell it for. Unfortunately we put lots more money into the boat than we would ever hope to get out of it. Bill had warned me of that. But I do want someone to buy it quickly before it starts costing me a lot more money. It’s a great blue water boat and it’s a great home for someone who wants to go cruising. It’s all ready to step onto and sail away!

In between selling things I’ve been keeping busy. My son and daughter-in-law took me to the Washington Nationals Spring Training camp with them in Florida and we watched some baseball. I’ve had some family and friends here to visit and staying with me, and I’ve spent some time with people that I know really cared about Bill and are now worrying about me. I’m doing OK though. Someone suggested that maybe I might want to be an election judge in Maryland’s upcoming primary election so I did fill out an application for that. They called me the next day and this morning I had my training! It’s going to be a long day – 5:45am until 9:00pm (unless they extend the hours for some reason). We’ll see how that goes and whether I’m willing to try it again in November. So far I’m glad I am doing it.

Generally things are going well. I’ll be happy when the boat sells, that is for sure. They do say the two happiest days of a sailboat owner’s life are the day you buy the boat and the day you sell it!