Ireland

Ireland

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Chunks of Life

My life is broken up into chunks.
Three week chunks.
Some chunks I like better than other chunks.
I'm heading home tomorrow after spending a 3 week chunk of my life living on a boat with 5 other guys, while we towed an oil barge back and forth from Houston to Corpus Christi, Texas.

Tomorrow about 5 pm I'll be sitting in a seat on a Southwest Airlines flight that will take me home to the Philly area. There's a good chance there will be a beverage of sorts in my hand.
Can you say, YIPEE?

So goodbye noisy engine room.........


 and hello again to surprise visitors to my back yard.


 Goodbye beautiful bride who I do not know. It was nice crashing your wedding a couple weeks ago.......

 Hello people I know really really well.

And so tomorrow begins another 3 week chunk of my life, this one at home with family and deer and raccoons that steal suet and a dog I'll walk.

By the weekend the boat will mostly be out of my consciousness. I won't wonder how the engines are running any longer. I'll stop wondering where the boat is. After 3weeks of nothing but boat boat boat, it's tough to just turn it off. It's like detox. It takes a while. Come that first weekend, I'll have it kicked and it will be all about home and family. 
That's usually about the time the "honey do" list makes it's first appearance. 

And that's ok.


8 comments:

NanaDiana said...

Glad you are homeward bound. I am new to your blog so didn't realize you were a "freighter". We live on Lake Michigan (actually Green Bay right at the mouth of the bay) so we see the freighters come in and out for to 9 months out of the year. One of our friends was a cook on one of the smaller rigs.

I grew up in Bradford County,PA- so nice to know you are from PA! Diana

Janney said...

Your girls are so pretty :)

Joey said...

Love this post. Always love a window into someone's life. That 3 weeks must be so amazing! I run 6 week sessions in my gym working day and night and then try to take 2 weeks off between each session. It goes so FAST!!!!! I have a bad habit of scheduling, scheduling, scheduling and that is not good. So my new habit I am cultivating is to STOP scheduling plans - for every evening especially! I never get a night off M-Th during a regular gym week so they are such luxury - waking up and not having to "get it up" for the evening classes. Off weeks need less evening activities!!

Great post, Mark!


Susie said...

Home, where you are totally loved. Do you wear ear plugs on the ship/boat/freighter?:) It looks clean in the engine room. Always be careful, blessings to you and your family, xo,Susie

Anonymous said...

Home is always the best place ever. Having Honey Do lists must feel like heaven.

Jerral Miles said...

Which three-week chunk passes more quickly? Looks to me like you have the best of both worlds. Celebrate!

Wayne said...

That's quite a different life from what this desk jockey experiences, enjoy you 'time off'.

Marilyn Miller said...

I think a 3 week schedule like this would be difficult at times and for sure hard to turn off and on.