Chapter 41: When Your Parents are Very Cool, Actually

Special from Katharine Stephens:

Okay, okay, it’s finally time for the other child’s perspective. Ever since Nick volunteered to write a post for this blog last month, my mom started asking me when I was writing mine, even though I don’t recall ever volunteering for the task. Thanks a lot, Nick…

On the bright side, since Nick wrote his first, now I can plagiarize his writing! So, remember those conversations with our parents that he talked about in his post? Let me share my version of those conversations.

• Mom & Dad: We’re taking a weeklong sailing class out in Seattle.
  • Me: Cool! Sounds like fun!

• Mom & Dad: We’re buying a boat.
  • Me: Cool! I like boats!

• Mom & Dad: We’re quitting our jobs.
  • Me: Cool! Enjoy the time off!

• Mom & Dad: We’re selling the house.
  • Me: Cool! I don’t have to go back to Seguin now!

You might notice the contrast between my version and Nick’s. Yes, despite what people’s initial impressions of us might be, I definitely turned out to be the more free-spirited, go-with-the-flow child out of the two of us. As our parents started talking about this plan more and more and I started realizing just how serious they were about it, I got more and more excited for them. They’ve spent their lives since Nick and I were kids working hard at their jobs AND working hard at raising the two of us. Of course, I like to think we weren’t TOO hard to raise in the grand scheme of things, but each of us definitely still caused our fair share of stress. So the thought of the two of them finally getting the chance to focus on themselves and their own happiness instead of anyone else and pursue their own adventure was really exciting for me!

Now, that’s not to say that the process has been ENTIRELY worry-free for me. Remember how my dad talked about his constant background worry that something bad will happen to his loved ones? Yeah, he passed that particular trait down (thanks for that). And the thought of your parents out floating in the middle of the ocean can, admittedly, be a little anxiety-inducing. So if y’all could just exercise a little caution when, say, operating power tools or climbing the mast, that would be awesome. But I know my parents are very smart and capable people (especially with my dad’s new policy of recognizing that my mom is always right), which helps ease the anxiety.

I’m definitely looking forward to spending some time on the boat now that it’s (more or less) guest-ready. In my limited experience sailing with the fam, I’ve always had a great time, so I can’t wait to get a taste of the Meraviglia life. Maybe in short bursts, though- I’ve had enough of the roughing it lifestyle from my stint as a field archaeologist in the Mexican jungle. These days I fully appreciate the luxuries of air conditioning, hot running water, a full kitchen, etc.

Still, I HAVE been honing some skills to contribute to the sailing life lately- I’ve taken up fishing! Okay, so, fishing might be a generous description of what I’m doing- more accurately, I’ve taken up attempting to fish. Still, I have complete faith that I’ll be an expert soon, and by the time I visit the boat I’ll be ready to catch, clean, and cook a fish dinner for my parents. Now I just need to convince my dad to eat seafood… Seems like kind of a requirement for boat life!

So, overall, to answer the question of how I adjusted to my parents upending their lives to move onto a boat: yeah, I’d say I did a pretty good job of taking it in stride. I mean, if you know me, you know that I’m not averse to making big life changes that might be unexpected or confusing to people for the sake of my own happiness- I like to flatter myself into thinking I might have even inspired my parents at least a little bit on that front. So you can count me as one vote firmly in favor of the boat life. I can’t wait to hear about all the new experiences and adventures that my mom and dad have in the process (just promise that you won’t become cooler than me, okay)!