Well it has been a few days more than 1 year now that we have had, and been working on Akupara!
It is a little hard to imagine that it has been this long and that we still have so many unfinished projects. I guess the big question is, are we happy with where we are in regards to the progress we have made on her? The answer to that question is loaded. Of course not. I would much rather be sitting aboard typing this right now somewhere in Mexico or the Caribbean but we are nowhere near that of course. It would be nice if the decks were finished, or the electrical or plumbing but I am glad that we are almost complete the interior. Considering this is basically a weekend project I think we are doing quite well. Our progress for the most part has been steady, with life getting in the way a few times but overall I think we have done quite well.
So just what did we accomplish? We accomplished spending a lot of time as a family working together towards the same goal. The kids (and the admiral in regards to tools anyway) learnt quite a lot in regards to boat work and power tools and a sense of accomplishment, and hard work. We had lots of laughs, and a few arguments. We were cold and wet at times and hot and sweaty at other times. We planned, and talked and drew pictures, and had to ask each other for help. We had paint brush fights and occasionally we told each other a better way of doing things. That was mostly the admiral of course ;-).
We got to know a few boyfriends and had an opportunity to watch the kids get a little older in both their interactions, abilities and skills as well as get a little closer to being adults. I was able to teach them how to use a jigsaw, and an orbital sander, screwdrivers, and wire cutters, and a host of other things. They learnt that if you try to mix thickened epoxy to fill holes and you forget to add the hardener, the end result is a forever sticky mess that you need to go back and clean out and do your work over. They learnt that Rome was not built in a day and they discovered that real work is required to make any progress. They learnt that sometimes in life you need to roll up your sleeves and get a little dirty and that not all paths are paved in gold. In fact, occasionally you might just run into the odd cockroach along the way. They learnt that money does not grow on trees and sometimes you can’t afford to just write a magic cheque or swipe a magic card to get stuff. They learnt that if you say you are going to do something, you need to follow through and get it done and stand by your word. I also hope that they learnt that even though things take way longer than you expect, or that you do not get as much accomplished as you had planned, or that yes you might run into the odd cockroach, you still need to continue. You need to sweep up the cockroach, throw it out, take a few minutes to re-align, and then get back to work. Nobody is going to come swooping in and save you.
So are we happy with what we have accomplished in this last year? You damn right we are. Even though Akupara is a long, long, way away from being in the warm waters of the Caribbean she has already done a fantastic job of her primary responsibility, and that is keeping us all together, united and safe. Thank you Akupara!
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Seasons Greetings and all the best! Thanks for following along over this last year and looking forward to sharing our progress over the next year with you as well!
The Captain.