Summer lessons: Sailing

I wanted to give an update about our Sailboat and some of the many adventures that we have been having this summer.  We have grown a lot since the last time that I wrote about our boat.  I remember quite a few terrifying times on the water, and I also remember quite a few times I was angry because Brent wanted to go around the lake one more time real quick before we were going in and then the wind would die and we would be stuck on the opposite side of the lake as the dock.  That seemed to happen on many different occasions unfortunately! I think we eventually learned our lesson and turned in before we were exhausted so it made for an easier time getting to the dock. 

Not only have I learned how to sail a boat (kinda) I also learned a great deal about communication.  I remember one experience in particular that I was so irritated with Brent.  As we were learning about sailing there were a few different times that I got yelled at, because there was no time to be a pansy when there were things that needed to be done.  I am not the best at raising and lowering the sails, but it seemed like that was always my job.  From my view Brent was just giving commands while I had to do everything.  He likes to call that skippering and steering :).  This is one of those times when we had a fantastic time sailing.  We were able to launch successfully and the wind was just perfect. When it came time to going back in to the dock we decided that we were going to sail into the dock.  Normally we take the sails down and row in, but we were feeling better about our skills and decided to sail in.  Well we missed the dock so in a panic I had to take the sails down, and catch the dock before we went past it with the wind.  I was not a fan of the situation at hand. I was so angry and ticked at Brent, because clearly he was playing the part of Skipper and he didn’t take my advice to take the sails down earlier and I had to correct our situation.  Blah blah blah drama drama drama.  I was pretty upset.  We got the boat out without too much trouble (thanks to my mad skills) and as we were driving back home Brent made a comment how that was our best sailing experience yet.  Hearing him say that made me stop and think. It really was our best sail, even if we had a bit of a mishap at the end.  It was up to me to be upset about the finish and let that ruin my whole trip or I could remember the awesome sailing trip that we had.  I chose to enjoy the whole trip instead of focus on how angry Brent made me.

 I have thought a lot about the different things that Brent and I do together.  We do challenging things; things that challenge us physically, but also things that challenge us together as a couple.  It is a great opportunity for us to grow and work together as a team. As I have thought about this, it seems like every summer is a new adventure and a new opportunity for growth.  Two years ago was rock climbing, last year was getting married and this year has been our sail boat.  I really have come to love sailing.  I am not a champ, by any stretch of the imagination, but I love to see how far we have come.  We have learned how to sail, but there is so much more than that.  We have learned to trust, communicate, and so much more.