A little piece of my heart is leaving ....

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Mark Twain

I’m having a hard day. My dear friend, my rock, my conscience and often the missing part of my brain is leaving. I’m not sure if she’s a gypsy, a sailor or simply too stubborn to settle down, but she’s decided to move to the other side of the world … again. She left a few years ago for a job opportunity in Argentina. It was a big step, as she was not only changing her location, she we forging ahead into a life that not even she was 100% that she was ready for. But in her typical strong, brave and elegant style, she sauntered into the sunset to follow her dreams. She was gone for what seemed like forever but was less than 2 years. She came back to visit a few times. We remained close on email, and eventually she came home … a changed woman, for the better.


When she was back, we grew even closer. I introduced her to the rest of my life, and with as much trepidation as there was, I think it was a good thing for both of us in the long run. I showed her, that she could be view as simply a beautiful woman to a very “leave it to beaver” kind of family; that as different as she may be, she’s simply my beautiful friend, and my family came to cherish her too.


She’s my sounding board. Often trying to point out the blatant obvious realities I so often miss seeing. To settle me down when I get too rambunctious, and pick me up when I wallow. I know we will continue to be friends, be close, whether we’re 100 kms apart or 15,000 kms apart she will always be part of my life, always be part of my heart and always be in my soul.


I’ll miss seeing her beautiful face … but at least my glassware is safe for a while.


I love you Michaela, enjoy your adventure, but hurry home.






Sailors pray,
For fair winds and a following sea


The smell of salt in the air,
The feel of their skin as it's touched by the spray


An albatross soaring above,
Dolphins in the ship's wake at play


To witness a work of art that only God can create,
The sunset at the end of day


At night a million stars in the sky,
Safe anchorage in an islands lee


When the time comes to die as for all it must,
To awake in Sailors Heaven where nothing ever rusts


And always there would be,
Fair winds and a following sea