Monday, September 25, 2006

it's dark outside and my child is on a boat













so here's the story: i took bean to school this morning as usual, except that instead of her school bag and lunchbox, she had three shopping bags chock full of long underwear, polar fleece jackets, wool socks, a single metal spoon, toothpaste, and other sundries. i am assuming that at some point after that, she boarded a bus headed for midcoast maine (um, somewhere near camden?), and that she is now, at this very moment, in the dark, surrounded by 13-16 year olds on a very small (30 feet X 8 feet) sailboat. until saturday. i mean, it won't be dark until saturday, but she will be in very close proximity to the rest of her posse, i mean crew, for five days. near the end of the week, they do alight on hurricane island for some, um, team-building activities, and four blissful hours of "solo" time. oh yikes, here's something new to worry about!

boo and i are playing endless games of 5 card draw poker and listening to okkervil river to pass the time...

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mon dieu! Je n'ai jamais entendu parler de "mal de debarquement"! I have to remember that my dad, at age 68, sailed on a boat only 5 feet longer than theirs (but with nice beds and indoor plumbing), and probably with far less expertise than those Outward Bound teachers, from July '85 to March '86 (with quite a few stops), and made it back alive and well, AND without mal de debarquement....As I sit in my house with my wool socks and corduroy shirt on, I have to wonder if our little darlin's are warm enough....

Liz Woodbury said...

i felt extremely guilty lying in my toasty warm bed last night, a furry dog by my side, wondering what was happening on the s.s. dowd. also this morning, waking up, making tea, picturing the cold girls with sleep lines on their faces, morning breath, no hot water (though i guess they can produce it on their propane stoves?). it's so weird not to be able to check in, get little details, etc!

Anonymous said...

I agree totally! I felt exactly the same as I snuggled into bed last night. I just hope some things happen that are really fun for both of them! And I hope they've both gotten used to the bucket....

Anonymous said...

what's this about ...the bucket?!!! are they on a ship to India??? eeek . worse than I thought!

Liz Woodbury said...

oh yeah, we're all absolutely fixated on the bucket.